Dior Took Us To Church For Spring/Summer 2021

The Dior runway is renowned for two things. One, for its impeccably crafted, thoughtful garments; and two, for transporting its audience to another world. An enchanted forest; a 1930s circus; and this year, a Gothic cathedral.

Guests took their seats on socially distanced pews in a giant tent in Paris’s Jardin de Tuileries, as light flooded through stained glass windows and a capella hymns resonated in the air.

The clothes, though modest, spoke less of the church and more of a pastoral Mediterranean summer. First came folksy prints from paisley to patchwork, breezy kimonos and chiffon maxis, as well as neat turban headbands and little leather vests.

The overall mood was more pensive than that of seasons past; think less dazzle and more down-to-earth. Chiuri explained before the show that the collection was inspired by women at home. As such, the house’s iconic Bar jacket was reinterpreted in a less structured, more robe-like silhouette. Just add a flowy skirt and Roman sandal.

Themes of female empowerment were stitched within the collection’s seams, as we’ve come to expect from creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri. Feminist artist Lucia Marcucci’s retro collages emblazoned the cathedral windows, and before the runway, a special film screened to celebrate her work.

In fact, perhaps today’s Dior show is renowned for not two but three things: the clothes; the experience; and the feminism. Call it the holy trinity.

THE TRENDS

The robe jacket

Effortlessly elegant and made for layering.