Basics, lace ups and ballet flats: Dior's most romantic looks for the new season

Delicacy, elegance, rebellion and contrasts.

Oliver Thansan
Oliver Thansan
02 April 2024 Tuesday 10:32
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Basics, lace ups and ballet flats: Dior's most romantic looks for the new season

Delicacy, elegance, rebellion and contrasts. There is no pre-established aesthetic about how a feminist or feminine person should be. Maybe it doesn't have so much to do with what you wear or what you do. Rachel Regini, daughter of the creative Maria Grazia Chiuri, defined it as “an energy that is born from within so that each person finds their own way of living within themselves.” Regini has been the cultural consultant of the Dior house since 2019 and she has the fundamental role of linking feminist culture with the brand's communication, working together with creative women.

Hers have been such famous collaborations as that of the Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, whose phrase We shoud all be feminists became a symbol of a generation. Later, other authors would come, such as the historian Linda Nochlin and her feminist criticism of art history, or Claire Fontaine and her neon signs that celebrated the most stellar moments of feminist emancipation.

With the monumental and immersive work of art Not Her by Elena Bellantoni as a backdrop to present the spring-summer 2024 ready-to-wear line, Maria Grazia Chiuri and her team have designed a collection based on a reflection on the meaning of present, in which the past and the future must coexist simultaneously.

The looks play with various shades of white and the fabric is once again placed in the spotlight as “the only vehicle of our dreams,” in the words of the founding couturier. Fringes and pleats voluptuously complete the slightly rebellious, powerfully feminine and irresistibly Dior charm.

Knitted clothing, warm and sexy, plays an essential role, as it accompanies and caresses the curves of the body and envelops it without restrictions. Chiuri plays a floral x-ray that announces the arrival of spring through delicate embroidery that celebrates the impeccable savoir faire of the French house.

The jewels that sublimate the looks are adorned with the signs of the zodiac, a tribute to Christian Dior's fascination with astrology. The silhouettes are accentuated with ballet flats printed with haute couture codes and the mule reinterprets a timeless and emblematic silhouette in camel color. To finish, the straw hats take center stage with a modern and elegant creation with a short brim, frayed edges and a tone-on-tone stripe embroidered with the Christian Dior signature.