The Dior Haute Couture Fall Winter 2024-2025 show paid homage to the remarkable life and legacy of Faith Ringgold, an artist whose work has deeply influenced the discourse around activism, diversity, and inclusion. The installation at the show is also a tribute to Ringgold’s tireless advocacy for social change through creative expression. Ringgold, who passed away in April 2024, was commemorated in an environment that reflected her vibrant, narrative-rich art, and her career as a painter, sculptor, and quilt maker.
Maria Grazia Chiuri‘s collection merges couture and sportswear, reflecting on the political significance of women’s bodies. Inspired by the arrival of the Olympic Games in Paris, the collection honors athletes and tackles issues of equality in sports. The designs, characterized by metal mesh jersey in gold, silver, and white, feature classical draping and pleats to enhance movement, while combinations like draped skirts with hidden pants, and sports jerseys adorned with gold, manifest Chiuri’s vision of blending athleticism with elegance.
This haute couture collection marries modern jersey fabric with classical draping techniques, creating a dialogue between contemporary material innovation and traditional design. Each piece is crafted from a single piece of fabric that wraps around the body, accentuated with a specially developed jersey that incorporates lurex threads. This adds a reflective quality that enriches the fabric, making each garment shimmer uniquely, akin to the nuanced glow of ancient sculptures.
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The collection showcases the jersey in rich colors like gold, white, and red, designed to drape naturally and fluidly over the shoulders, echoing the elegance and purity of historical art forms. The lurex, a thin ribbon twisted around a viscose core, is carefully woven on modern machinery, resulting in a fabric that not only falls softly but also catches the light in a particularly enchanting way, emphasizing the sculptural inspiration behind the designs.
See more DSCENE Exclusive pictures of the design process in the Gallery below:
wow this is so cool! Love seeing behind the scenes process of haute couture, I think Maisons such as Dior need to work harder on showing us the work that goes into creating these literal pieces of art for haute couture. IT is dying out and it is amazing dior still works on it!
work of art! Bravo Maria Grazia!