It’s Lady Dior Vs Miss Dior at the House of Dior
Review of Dior Fall 2024 Fashion Show
By Angela Baidoo
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
THE THEME
Images and videos of the original Miss Dior store and collections were where Maria Grazia Chiuri decided to visit in the house’s archives, specifically pinpointing a moment in history to relive in 2024, namely the swinging sixties.
The opening looks were a parade of trench coats, skirts, and blazers with a graffiti-style Miss Dior graphic print emblazoned across the bottom-half. As a branding exercise it hits the nail on the head, but far too many looks featured the motif, which seemed like logo-baiting to draw in a younger crowd, but if thats the case it didn’t appear very modern, to wear your logo so overtly on your sleeve. In a social media preview there was a history lesson on the Miss Dior brand and how it “marked the first time a designer has used and developed the concept of a logo”. At the time of the 1960s there was the idea that it would be an unofficial ‘manifesto for the youth’. In the today of things, not so much. If it was to have been a teaser for the relaunch of say, the Miss Dior brand? That would be more aligned with something that the kids could get on board with, an accessible Dior line!
The rest of the collection was a much needed move away from the Dior signature silhouette which is revisited every season – and with good reason, but are we not at a stage where we can assume that if you wish to purchase a bar jacket or circle skirt you can walk into any Dior boutique and pick one up? Which is to say in 2024 does the look still need to be on the runway? And with today’s show, the answer appears to be no. Because by not including those signature looks there was room for new (and the term is used loosely here) ideas to come through. That ‘newness’ made its presence felt in a crystal-embellished tank top and androgynous loose trousers styled with a white shirt (unbuttoned suggestively low) and layered under a knitted tank. Exploring these further would have been another welcome break-away from what we have come to expect from the creative director, who has never not put a strictly defined version of women at the forefront of her runway presentations.
With the fluctuation of the luxury market in the west, it is starting to become much more evident that designers are following the money to new regions with significant growth potential, with the targeting of a more modest consumer. The styling of todays show, while easily appealing to the Dior customer, also included a model wearing a draped scarf around her head and more than a few styles grazing the floor and sitting away from the body, placing Dior in a prime position to capture the luxury expenditure of countries such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar, estimated at €15 billion in 2023, and by 2030 that figure is set to double to €30-€35 billion according to Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
THE BUZZWORDS
Saying it loud, Go-Go retro, animal magnetism, camelology
THE SHOWSTOPPER
Look #54
A dressed down Lady Dior conveys the designers wish to channel Miss Dior for the modern day more accurately than the graffiti trench coats, here the embellished sheer tank and skirt with patent boots align with today’s youthful customer who wears her sexuality (or femininity) for all to see.
THE DIRECTION
THE WRAP UP
In channelling what was a bold brand move at the time, i.e. developing a collection and opening a store to cater to the new younger customer in the 1960s, who had their own opinions and were separating themselves from the generation before through a more daring use of fashion, this was a missed opportunity to test-run some new more directional silhouettes. But still this fall 2024 collection was a nice refrain from Dior 101 with leopard print in wearable shapes, studded trench coats and bomber jackets with sailor collars, as well as the new Miss Dior print, which didn’t get enough of an airing being that it was the reason for the season.
