Spring Summer 2024 fashion month has officially made it to France, where Dior opened Paris Fashion Week with a loud and powerful display of female empowerment.
Behind the Barbie pink and acid yellow striped runway, a seven-metre long LED screen played visual artist Elena Bellantoni’s digital work, titled NOT HER as a remix of Sinead O’Connor’s ‘Nothing Compares’ echoed through the room.
The models marched in the house’s new collection as feminist slogans reading ‘Take Your Hands Off When I Say No, Take Your Eyes Off When I Say No” and “Capitalism Won’t Take Her Where She Really Wants To Go” appeared on the screen. Alongside with the slogans, the screen showed images of 1950s housewives in makeup and gloves, and voluptuous women bending over cars.
The feminist messaged was also communicated with the collection’s pieces, which included oversized denim jackets, Bermuda shorts, white shirts and loose-fitting variations of suiting. In contrast to the bright colours on the runway, the models, with their slicked black hair and charcoal lips, wore a palette was was relatively muted—with an emphasis on black, white and grey shades.
The collection continued the feminist ideology that the house’s first ever female creative director, Maria Grazia Chiuri, began her reign with. Since Chiuri’s first collection saw the release of her now iconic ‘We Should All Be Feminists” t-shirts, the creative director has continued to honour female leaders, thinkers and historical figures.
Dior also shared this message before the show, when they shared a video with anthropologist Michela Zucca, who discussed the historical condemnation of intelligent and rebellious women.
The show also had their fair share of famous women in the house, with Charlize Theron, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Jennifer Lawrence, Elle Macpherson, Maya Hawke, Olivia Palermo, Jisoo, Anya Taylor-Joy and Elizabeth Debicki in attendance.
