Dior Spring/Summer 2024 Show at Paris Fashion Week
This week in Paris, the Dior Spring/Summer 2024 show opened and closed in striking all-black looks. It was not, however, completely void of color, as guests were greeted to an atmosphere of neon pink and yellow hues. We first caught a glimpse of the brightly-colored set from the outside, with large-scale messages on panels of bold text that read “THE GAME IS NOT HER” at the entrance.
Photo by Adrien Dirand, courtesy of Dior.
Dior’s Runway by Elena Bellantoni
Inside, digital panels and striped floors continued to carry the bold color palette, immersing the viewers in more all-cap messages by the artist Elena Bellantoni that changed throughout the show. Script—from “WE WANT KIDS BUT WE WANT ROSES TOO” to “NOT HER” in repetition—piqued interest from those in attendance long before the show began.
Photo by Adrien Dirand, courtesy of Dior.
For the moving sceneography, the Rome-based artist Bellantoni created a video art piece entitled “NOT HER.” Its aim was to refuse the clichés of women and unbind them from prejudice and categories. Occupying all the walls of the show, the analog split-flap video installation also showed an array of female figures from sexist advertisements, even Bellantoni herself, alongside phrases that respond to stereotypes, like “IT’S NOT HER, SHE’S NO LONGER ALL THAT.” Furthermore, “NOT HER” highlighted the present-day actuality for women around the world—a balance of tradition and progression, sensual and serious, past and future.
Couresy of Dior.
Reframing Femininity, the Dior Way
In this new arena, the past and future are bridged by what it means to be a woman now; how ideas of femininity, power, and our many differences carry into the way we express ourselves through fashion. Women like witches, as Dior jotted down in its show notes, do this while honoring science and nature, and sharing knowledge along the way. For Spring/Summer 2024, Maria Grazia Chiuri revealed this fearless type of feminine spirit by embracing a Medieval style, evoking its architectural and masculine details through new clothing and accessories.
Book-ended in black and white, the collection’s color palette included ash, chamomile, and illustrious hues of love potions, with only a few patterns—like moon phases, medicinal herbs, and animals. Silhouettes and styling showed strong choices, including sharp jackets with dropped hems over flowing skirts worn with practical flat shoes. Each look appeared to be stripped down and built back up, filling in the necessary bits for balance, but also mystery. Some were paired with leather gloves, others with small purses or large totes; most saw pointed or rounded ballet flats with buckle straps or single-pearl closures.
Couresy of Dior.
Dior SS24 Looks and Details
Other looks—like sheer dresses with panels of thin strips breezing behind—were seen alongside one-shoulder button-down tops, jorts “dirty” dyed at their edges, and mesh and lace dresses and skirts complemented by coats with holes and practical bags. Fine fabrics were also layered for a significantly sensual look, as material choices carried the weight of memories, time, and knowledge, standing for something far beyond what met the eye—much like women.
Couresy of Dior.
Spring/Summer 2024 reminds us that the relationship between our bodies and our clothing is set to the culture and context of the time we’re living in. Filled with agony and performance, art and history, our current reality appears on our garments in burns and lacerations, in construction. Frayed hems, ripped tanks, and embroidered coats with golden sunrays appear.
Couresy of Dior.
Knitwear flows with the shape of the body over barely-there dresses—neither constricting or too revealing. Light, metallic sweaters lend the imagination to chainmail; mille-fleurs, precious to Dior, are seen as a dark floral X-ray. Here, the present-day Dior woman knows who she is, and she isn’t afraid to show you.
Photo by Adrien Dirand, courtesy of Dior.
