At Dior, the 1960s Take Center Stage
At Dior’s fall 2024 show held at the Tuileries Garden in Paris, ’60s suiting, wool coats, and a muted palette of brown and beige ruled the runway. Creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri was inspired by the house’s Miss Dior line, the brand’s foray into ready-to-wear, which launched in 1967.
Everyday staples with a retro twist first appeared on the runway: short-sleeve trench coats, white shirting, and flat riding boots which slowly transitioned into a more era-specific array of formal pieces, like dresses with jeweled collars, fluffy white wool jackets, gladiator sandals, gold jewelry and bags, and blazers and skirts scrawled with the phrase “Miss Dior.”
A dance between commercial restraint and explorative expression, the second half of the collection served as an introduction to Chiuri’s more maximalist side—and provided a jolt of inspiration amid the initial neural-hued offering. First came the glittering mesh tops and beautifully beaded skirts, then little leopard riding outfits (with matching caps). The glittering options in the collection—like a gold beaded fringe minidress, a black column maxi dress with a crystal collar, and a parade of sheer beaded fantasies and dramatic long white dresses—were especially impressive. Against a fashion landscape that has put its focus on the 1990s and early 2000s for inspiration, the strong lines of 1960s-inspired silhouettes felt like a breath of fresh air. Double-breasted jackets and slouchy trousers served as a reminder of dressing for the season with a nod to vintage.
A bamboo fortress surrounded the runway; in the middle stood female warrior figures created by the Mumbai-based artist Shakuntala Kulkarni. On their own, they were a striking statement that couldn’t be further from the aesthetic of Dior’s collection. Yet Kulkarni’s work, in her own words, is deeply connected to body politics, a topic that couldn’t be more relevant both in the 1960s and today. As a nod to that concept, “Je t’aime... moi non plus” the song by Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg (the latter of whom famously wrote it for Brigitte Bardot) played in between loops of what sounded like a marching band. The 1967 track was once banned in several countries for its explicit content. And although Dior’s fall 2024 collection could be viewed as modest in terms of skin exposure and cut, the structured miniskirts Chiuri showed on the runway were once viewed as scandalous and controversial. The dichotomy seemed like commentary on how far society has come, and yet how much more must be done, when it comes to women’s rights.
