Paris Fashion Week: Dior Embraces Goddess Gowns and 1920s Glamour
Like many in Paris, Dior designer Maria Grazia Chiuri has the Olympics on her mind. Her latest haute couture show took place in the garden of the Musée Rodin, close to the Esplanade des Invalides, where seating is being set up for the Olympic and Paralympic archery competitions.
However, haute couture, with its five-figure price tags, doesn't cater to athleisure. This season's Dior collection embodied Olympian grandeur: goddess gowns with asymmetric necklines revealing a shoulder and skirts cascading in silken layers.
These designs were made for evening wear, not workouts—sports bras would be out of place under these strapless dresses. Comfort was key. "I am obsessed with comfort," Chiuri said before the show. "I never want to construct a body with clothes; I want to deconstruct the clothes on your body. Christian Dior built the shape of a woman with clothes, but my approach is different. I want to make a dress that makes your body feel good, not one that changes its shape. I hate anything with boning and prefer clothes that are light and easy to wear."
Fashion, like sport, is about more than just aesthetics; it's about culture and values. This season, Chiuri's inspiration included a black-and-white photo of athlete Alice Milliat in early 20th-century sportswear. Milliat, a runner, rower, and swimmer, is best known for her fight to include women in competitive sports, leading to the first Women's Olympic Games in 1922. In her honor, a hall at the new sports arena at Porte de la Chapelle is being named after her.
Chiuri's first Dior collection in 2016 was inspired by fencing. "Sport always influences me because sport clothes are designed to help performance. I am interested in clothes that help you and make you feel good," Chiuri explained. "Clothes always interact with the body, and this is clear in sport."
The show opened with models in elegant evening gowns draped over racer-back tank tops, accessorized with heavy gold bangles and lace-up gladiator sandals. The collection featured classical elements intertwined with 1920s influences, such as the slinky jersey fabrics, silk fringes, and twinkling bugle beads. It was a blend of Olympian elegance and a nod to women's liberation through sportswear. "When they invented the bicycle, women stopped wearing corsets," Chiuri remarked. The color palette of gold, silver, and bronze aimed for a touch of glory.