Paris haute couture week is underway, and Dior is off to a dazzling start.
Overnight at the Musée Rodin in Paris, Creative Director Maria Grazia Chiuri evoked the glamour and power of the 1920s with a show paying homage to the vivacious spirit of the Jazz Age icon, Josephine Baker.
A parade of stars witnessed the sartorial spectacle in the front row including Anya Taylor-Joy, Carla Bruni, Kirsten Dunst, Baz Luhrman and Catherine Martin, Rosamund Pike and K-Pop’s Jisoo.
In a symphony of metallics and muted hues, models were sent down the runway with Baker-inspired kiss curls fitted out in beaded fringing, velvet robes, flowing suits, and silk chemises and undergarments worn an assortment of coats and suits in fabrics dear to Monsieur Dior. Completing each look were crushed velvet platform heels with assorted embellishments.
The delicate pieces, emblematic of Dior’s renowned savoir-faire, came to life in a scenographic narrative—specially envisioned by artist Mickalene Thomas—composed of giant portraits of Baker and other icons from Dorothy Dandridge, Eartha Kitt and Nina Simone to pianist Hazel Scott and models Naomi Sims and Donyale Luna.
Both a client, muse and good friend of Christian Dior himself, Baker was famously dressed both on and off stage by the Maison throughout her life. One of the first African-American icons, Baker used her popularity to serve others as a multi-faceted artist, a resistance fighter, mother of 12 adopted children and protector of animals.
When she arrived in Paris in 1925, Baker represented a new wave of femininity, resulting in her rapid success and freedom to radically own her look. She soon became an Art Deco icon and famously embraced a more modern approach to tailoring, as replicated in the latest collection.
Throughout the collection Chiuri’s paid tribute to Baker’s modernity of those years, with feathers and beads conjuring modern-day cabaret, to her more androgynous style with sleek suits evoking her liberating sexuality.
As for the beauty, Peter Philips, Creative and Image Director for Dior Makeup, amped up the drama with a charcoal smudge smokey eye, softened with accidents of silver shimmer. Skin was matte and flawless, while lips remained natural, with just a hint of gloss, so as not to detract from the eyes.
