Dior’s Fairy Tale AW21 Show
Image Courtesy: Strike FSU
The fairy tales we all know and love got a Dior makeover. Designer Maria Grazia Chiuri’s Dior Autumn/ Winter 2021 collection used fantasy as inspiration. The show was staged in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles on International Women’s Day.
The Italian fashion designer wanted her AW21 ready-to-wear collection to reimagine haute couture. She collaborated with choreographer Sharon Eyal and artist Silvia Giambrone to manifest a moody mise-en-scène where the mirrors were covered with spikes and the dancers moved gracefully around in the shadows. When these three female artists worked together to create this show, they had the image of placing women at the forefront of the story. The show took place in utter darkness as models were styled in button-up shirts worn underneath schoolgirl pinafore dresses. They were paired with dramatically hooded coats and printed pieces which Chiuri made to look like floral patterns disguised as camouflage.
Instead of focusing on the traditional trope of women finding salvation through men and love, Chiuri wanted to reframe the narrative of women and their desires. As a result, she celebrated the female authors of fairy tales from 17th century France. Authors Madame d’Aulnoy and Madame Leprince de Beaumont wrote numerous fairy tales and published them under pseudonyms. They ignored the male gaze by introducing heroines who follow their path and not those laid out by men. The atmosphere of the show was mysterious and ominous. It took a darker turn on the typical fairy tale ending that we typically see in Disney films. The mirrors represented a threshold. In Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, the mirror was prevalent in opening up new perspectives. The relationship with the mirror became an attraction for the audience. Giambrone discussed how the mirrors challenge the audience to look at their identity. They represent the vanity and narcissism that is so common in society today.
Chiuri designed blue cashmere coats with white and red embellishments to resemble that of a toy soldier’s uniform. Gold and silver clothing pieces appeared to be sprinkled with magic pixie dust. The tulle evening gowns were fit for royalty. She took a clever take at Dior’s iconic Bar Jacket by adding a hood, scarlet cape, and cigarette pants to impersonate Little Red Riding Hood. One of Chiuri’s favorite fairy tales is Beauty and the Beast. Roses were the main inspiration for her collection as a petite rosebud was fastened at the collar of a buttoned up white shirt, a rose turned into a corsage on the waist of a navy blue plissé gown, and rose petals were scattered over a sheer black and white harlequin gown. Additionally, silk scarves embellished with the Dior monogram were also an iconic piece in her collection. Other accessory takeaways were pearl collars and black silk Alice headbands. An entourage of princess tulle dresses concluded the show.
Fashion and fairy tales are more alike than most would think. They both encourage individuals to dream of becoming another person. The use of fantasy created an escape from reality from the troubled world we all live in. Maria Grazia Chiuri thought outside the box and used her collection to portray women as more than just princesses that need saving.
Strike Out,
Writer: Veronica Polanco
Editor: Cali Robins
Graphic Design: Ali MacCloud
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