Dior Womenswear Haute Couture Runway Recap
Take a trip through Dior’s couture voyage!
by AMANDA ROSENTHAL ★ FEBRUARY 3, 2021
The “Super Bowl” of fashion—Fashion Week—occurs twice a year during the months of September and February. Normally, the streets of New York, Milan, Paris, and London (AKA the “Big Four”) are filled with models, influencers, photographers, and designers and their teams, but this year things had to be done a little differently.
Due to COVID-19, designers weren’t able to hold in-person fashion shows, so they pivoted to social media to display their collections. Thanks to technology, what once was an exclusive moment in the fashion industry has become accessible to a much wider audience. Designers like Chanel, Valentino, Fendi, Prada, and Dior have already displayed their virtual fashion shows on their sites.
Credit: Dior
Dior’s Womenswear Haute Couture Fashion Show, which aired on January 25, was one of the most breathtaking shows of the season. Maria Griaza Chiuri, the creative director at Dior, was the brains behind the magical and eerie collection inspired by the Visconti-Sforza deck of Tarot Cards. With the intention to delight the family of the Duke of Milan, the deck of cards was made by Bonifacio Bembo around 1400. Three centuries later, the French, who took an interest into the fate predicting cards, renamed the cards to Tarot. The blend of French and Italian inspired attire is seen in the collection’s silhouette and style.
The production, directed by Matteo Garone, began with a model receiving a tarot card reading and dove into a journey where she met the figures (tarot cards), each dressed in beautiful pieces from the collection. The couture voyage embodies the personal reflection most of us have experienced during quarantine and offers hope to the situation. As Chiuri describes it to Vogue, “this attraction to magic can help us have hope for the future.” The fashion show offered an enchanting escape, but also emphasized the personal journey we have all gone through during these times.
Credit: Dior
The show’s exploration of self-affirmation, reflection, and fantasy is also inspired by superstition. Monsieur Dior was superstitious and believed in signs from the universe to guide him. The show represents signs from destiny, and the pieces reflect the mystical superstition.
The collection featured beautiful garments inspired by the tarot cards. The elegant designs, gold and earth tones, and attention to detail make each look unique to the other. The show featured corsets, dresses, regal robes, and Renaissance inspired silhouettes. The production also featured masculine looks, breaking the boundaries of gendered fashion.
Credit: Dior
Credit: Dior
While COVID-19 has changed fashion week as we know it, it has provoked designers to think outside of the box and create new ways to share their collections. With technology right at our fingertips, I wouldn’t be surprised if more and more designers start incorporating the use of media to showcase their designs. To experience all the show had to offer, click here.