Something was clear from the very first look that Maria Grazia Chiuri sent down the runway at Dior’s autumn winter 2022 collection unveiling in Paris yesterday—she has technology on the brain. Rather than present a traditional Dior look, a variation on the Bar jacket or extravagantly embellished evening gown, Chiuri created a black catsuit that came alive with fluorescent green panels, lit up with lighting in a geometric artery-like pattern across the body. It set the tone for a collection that experimented with technology and its capabilities to revolutionize the way fashion is designed.
This first look, and the many that succeeded it were part of a collaboration between Dior and the Italian sports-tech company D-Air Lab (the name similarities are just a fun coincidence). The second look saw D-Air rework the iconic Dior Bar jacket by turning it inside out and outfitting it with an internal heating system, and futuristic-looking padding detail, in homage to the internally-seamed hip pads of the original 1950s design. Elsewhere sporting motifs like racing gloves, technical biker jackets, and football-style shoulder pads were paired with soft lace gowns and sleek tailored suits. The effect was dynamic—and prescient.
“Clothes are themselves a form of protection… they reassure us,” Chiuri told The Guardian backstage at the show. “That aspect is very present in what I do — emotional protection as well as protection in its proper sense.” Many have been quick to note that the ‘protective’ energy of the collection—which extended to airbag corsets and thick-padded vests—gave an eerie nod to the unfolding tragedy in Ukraine. The collection was designed before Vladamir Putin’s devastating attack, but Chiuri used the news to make a bold feminist statement. “The problem is cultural and patriarchal. There must be more women in decision-making positions. There would be fewer wars,” she said.
That feminist sentiment extended to the set pieces. Those familiar with Chiuri’s work at Dior will know that each season she partners with a feminist artist, heroing their work in the runway presentation. This season the honour went to Mariella Bettineschi. With the artist’s permission, Chiuri hung pieces from Bettineschi’s collection ‘The Next Era’, which features portraits of women from the 16th to the 19th centuries (most created by male artists), with their eyes slices and stacked to suggest a “double vision”. “Women, in art or through clothing, have been constricted and I want to change that point of view by modifying their eyes,” the artist explained. And so the set, like the collection itself, explored the dualities of feminine existence—soft and hard, feminine and masculine, utilitarian and superfluous. In a moment where the aftershocks of male tyranny are being felt throughout Europe—and the world, it was a welcome escape, if only for a moment.
