Dior’s global traveller-inspired AW17 Couture show

Last year, Maria Grazia Chiuri made history after her appointment first female artistic director at Dior. This year, it seems she was bitten by the travel bug, presenting the Resort collection in the Californian desert. For the AW17 Couture collection, she was thinking about her own journey from Rome to Paris when she accepted the job at the helm of the Parisian house. More than just Chiuri’s second Couture collection, it was also Dior’s 70th anniversary which will be celebrated with a retrospective at Les Arts Décoratif. Here’s everything that went down at the show:

THE COLLECTION WAS AN ODE TO GLOBAL TRAVELLERS

The show notes revealed a quote by German writer Karl Gutzkow that read, “I have purchased a map of Paris printed on a pocket handkerchief”. In addition to the set, Chiuri was looking at different journeys around the world including her own from Rome to Paris and a map from 1953 charting Dior’s global expansion. It wouldn’t be a stretch to imagine Amelia Earheart – the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic – dressed in the aviator style jumpsuit. There was also an ode to travel writer Dame Freya Stark, through the fedoras created by milliner Stephen Jones. 

MASCULINE VS FEMININE SILHOUETTES

More so than previously, Chiuri explored more masculine silhouettes and fabrics for the collection. The first few opening looks were coat dresses and pantsuits in grey and navy feminised with cinched waists and pleating. Fans of her embroidered tulle dresses won’t be disappointed, there were still lots of them reimagined through the theme with one dress embellished with petals that made up the shape of Africa.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DIOR! 

This year Dior celebrates its 70th anniversary, and in addition to the Couture show paying homage to the house’s history, there will also be a retrospective opening at Les Arts Décoratifs – the museum’s largest fashion exhibition ever. Opening on July 5th it explores the vast legacy of Christian Dior himself and features over 300 couture dresses. In addition, it also showcases the work of previous creative directors – John Galliano and Raf Simons – who are equally integral to the brand’s history. In one of the many rooms, the space has been curated to look like a rainbow with different objects making up the spectrum from red to violet. And for those who are curious, yes it does include those amazing latex boots from Raf’s SS15 Couture collection for Dior. There's even a copy of Dazed on display.