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“Women’s rights are humans rights.” It was a slogan plastered up and down the technicolour walls of the Musée Rodin in Paris, the setting for Dior’s Autumn – Winter 18 / 19 Ready to Wear collection. A slogan which resonates profoundly with Maria Grazia Chiuri’s Dior, a Dior which, since her incumbency some four years ago, has been defined by the female cause. It was that original affirmation, “We Should All Be Feminists”, which set the tone for today’s Dior, and since then, Chiuri has been resolute in her crusade.
Today in Paris was no exception. “My job as a designer is to create the wardrobe for the image that women want to portray of themselves,” she said backstage. “We have to listen to women, to hear what is the point of view of women now, of the new generation.”
This new generation, however, took a retrospective glance backwards to 1968: a year which marked the beginning of the women’s liberation in France. It was those years, and Chiuri’s own personal experience which inspired the collection. For Chiuri, however, most striking was an incident outside the Dior boutique in Paris two years prior. It was a photo found whilst rummaging through the Dior archives, a photo which depicted a group of young women huddled outside the Dior boutique holding placards which read: “Support the miniskirt”. A protest against the Bohan hemlines and conservatism of fashion at the time; it was a fight for the abbreviated hemline, a fight for liberalism and above all, a fight for women – a fight which resonated with Chiruri. This brand of ’60s feminism was referenced throughout the show; from its walls – a curated overlay of vintage female-centric magazines and Parisian feminist newspaper La Voix des Femmes, to its beauty – bold, coloured, graphic eyeliner by way of Peter Phillips. Bold beauty which spoke of the battle, and was ultimately inspired by those beautiful beatniks of ’60s counterculture who – with backbone and spirit – fought for women.
“I didn’t want makeup that was too pretty,” explained makeup director Peter Philips backstage, who with strokes of coloured genius drew imperfect lines around model sockets with Dior’s soon-to-be-released On Stage Liners. Some almost looked incomplete, like they were unfinished, and were articulated in colours atypically akin to eyeliner – pink, orange, yellow, blue, green, navy. The colours alone echoed sentiments of irreverence; matte, chalky and brilliantly vivid (and also tied in tonally to the retro shades – a task which Phillips was briefed on at the outset), whilst their execution on both the upper and lower lash lines were also a bold move. “The blunt liner is cool and conceptual, but not precious. You can say what you have to say and be taken seriously, but also show that you have fun with [your makeup] and enjoying being a creative woman.”
Graphic eyes in gloriously wayward colour; these creative, strong women marched to Chiuri’s new beat – miniskirts and all.
