And Sport Shall Set the Dior Woman Free
Review of Dior Spring 2025 Fashion Show
By Angela Baidoo
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
Amazonian, olympic spirit, agile movement
2024 has truly been Dior’s ‘Year of Sport’. As Paris took on the honours of hosting the Olympic Games, it came as no surprise when the LVMH group stepped into the role of official Premium Partner. It made perfect sense, as the varied Maisons which sit under the groups broad umbrella allowed it to provide the champagne for the celebrations (Moët & Chandon), design the medals (Chaumet), and dress the performers (Dior, Louis Vuitton) at the opening and closing ceremonies. It also provided a walking billboard for all of its most beloved luxury fashion houses – from Celine Dion and Lady Gaga in Dior to ballet dancer Guillaume Diop in Louis Vuitton, generating millions in EMV and MIV for the group and its stable of brands.
Dior were quick to realise the revenue-driving potential of partnering with rising sports stars as ambassadors. Football and the NBA (and coming up the rear the WNBA) are two main sports that are often represented on the front rows of the Men’s season. This summers Olympic games gave brands like Dior the opportunity to amplify female athletes and para-athletes, in line with Maria Grazia Chiuri’s values around female empowerment. Prior to their start, Dior announced Para-cyclist Marie Patouillet, wheelchair tennis player Pauline Déroulède, boxer Estelle Mossely, skateboarder Louise-Aina Taboulet, and Paralympic fencer Beatrice Vio Grandis as its very own Olympic team of international ambassadors.
Keeping the spirit of the games alive (as well as the pedestaling of artists), walking out on the runway prior to the shows start was multi-disciplinary artist and competitive archer Sofia Ginevra Giannì, who goes by SAGG Napoli – an acronym of her name. An Italian artist, she “explores notions of gender, economy, class and ethnicity within different cultures” according to todays show notes.
Taking her position in a glass-walled installation which she conceived, titled “With my heart in one hand and a bow in the other”, she proceeded to fire off her bows (Napoli only taking up the sport of archery in 2020) towards a target at the end of the runway, while the models walked around her. It was a welcome change to see the art within the show space become an interactive part of the runway performance, rather than just remaining static.
In what has become a mini tradition for the creative director, there was an unveiling of the influences behind todays collection, with a look into the archive revealing that sportswear, in the American and technical tradition, has always been a part of the brands DNA. Part of this came from Christian Dior’s mother, who he saw ride horses in riding clothes “which gave rise to what was known as the Amazon or equestrian suit” as was highlighted in a social media post. This would spur him on to include sports ensembles as part of his collections, as well as swim and ski suits so he “laid the foundations for a fashion where women could be agile and sporty”. The next evolution of the house saw the creation of ‘Dior-Sport’ in 1962 by then creative director Marc Bohan. The premise at the time was “fashion for a sporty, dynamic woman who is free in her movements”. For spring 2025 it was this freeing of the Dior silhouette – merged with the idea of the Amazonian woman – which created a break away from the collections we have seen before (It would have been of benefit had this collection been presented in February, just prior to the games – but that’s the way the fashion calendar aligns), from the cut-out asymmetric swimwear to the slinky jersey sheath dresses, and buckled cargo pants, it felt more youthful, and yes more free. Even down to the beauty looks created for the show by Peter Philips – Creative and Image Director for Dior Makeup – who told The Impression backstage “[the collection] is about strong women, who look like they have just done a workout or come from a heroic battlefield, so the idea was an Après Sport look…I applied under the eye the Diorshow On Stage crayon 099 Black, but not uniform as I wanted to avoid clean lines, then I asked the girls to squeeze their eyes to make it look as if they had been running or doing a workout and being very active.” So, even the make-up used in the show was applied with a more freeform mindset, “to create the effect of makeup displaced by physical exertion” explained Philips.
What wasn’t as well worked through were the Moto-sport elements. Implemented into the collection via chequerboard prints, they felt out of place and a little too mainstream. And it will remain to be seen if the black and white side stripes will rile up certain sports brands, as the similarities required a double-take, even if the Dior logo had been worked into the design.
THE DIRECTION
THE WRAP UP
This is not the first time that Maria Grazia Chiuri has looked to the time of the ancient greeks or incorporated sporting elements into her collections, but spring 2025 was a well-executed example of the Dior woman being set free – to run, jump, shoot arrows, or swim in a triathlon. The silhouettes merged the idea of women in action, like the Amazonians were, with function always present.
Swimsuits converted to evening ensembles and tailored blazers or cargo pants – through the tightening of a buckle – gave the wearer the power to push the boundaries of what she could do in her everyday life.
