Paris Fashion Week AW24: Dior pays tribute to legendary designer's sister "Miss Dior"
Dior made a case for logos in its latest Paris Fashion Week show as it paid tribute to the legendary designer's sister Catherine, who was known as "Miss Dior".
Logomania has fallen out of fashion favour in the past few years, replaced by the overwhelming trend for ‘quiet luxury’. But Dior has brought back logos for its AW24 collection – albeit in a more grown-up way. Many of the clothes and accessories in its show this afternoon looked as though they have been boldly spray-painted with the words "Miss Dior".
The move harks back to the Miss Dior line, which was was first introduced in 1967, and which Dior said was the first time a designer used and developed the concept of a logo in clothes or accessories. Back then, the line heralded a new era in fashion – a more youthful and fun aesthetic.
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Miss Dior was recently played by Game Of Thrones actor Maisie Williams in the Apple TV+ series The New Look. It tracks the life of French designer Dior, along with his contemporaries – including Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel and Pierre Balmain.
Catherine Dior was a revolutionary figure – she was arrested in Paris by the Gestapo in 1944 and sent to Ravensbrück, a Nazi concentration camp for women. She survived the war and lived as a farmer in Provence, France, before her death in 2008.
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Williams was front row to watch Dior’s latest collection, wearing a chic grey double-breasted skirt suit – the hourglass silhouette of the coat mimicking the Bar jacket design Dior debuted in 1947.
References to Miss Dior ran throughout the show, with the name splashed over coats and skirts. But make no mistake – this was not a busy collection.
Maisie Williams (Vianney Le Caer/AP)
Instead, it was a masterclass in how to do logos elegantly – the colour palette was muted, the designs classic and the styling minimal, to really let the words shine through.
There were references to Dior throughout the ages – from modern interpretations of the Bar jacket to shift mini dresses, perhaps referencing the Sixties origin of the Miss Dior fashion line.
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Everything was impeccably tailored – even to the matching denim sets creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri sent down the runway.
Models had their hair slicked back and wore minimal jewellery – mostly a single long gold chain around their necks – but an element of youthful fun was given in the beauty look: an electric daub of pink in the inner corner of each eye.
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Long black boots seem to be a recurring theme of this fashion month, as they were also central to Fendi’s recent collection in Milan.
Dior was the first major event on the Paris Fashion Week calendar this season, and celebrities flocked to the show set up in the Tuileries Garden.
Tailoring was the overwhelming theme of the front row – Dior ambassador Jennifer Lawrence wore an all-grey three-piece suit, with no shirt underneath the waistcoat.
Jennifer Lawrence (Vianney Le Caer/AP)
Fellow brand ambassador, Natalie Portman – who wore an intricately embroidered gown from Dior Couture to last month’s Golden Globes – watched the show in a gold skirt suit set, paired with a black turtleneck and tortoiseshell sunglasses.
Natalie Portman (Vianney Le Caer/AP)
The Crown star Elizabeth Debicki’s look was simple and elegant: a black strappy dress with her hair loose and a red lip.
Elizabeth Debicki (Vianney Le Caer/AP)
How To Have Sex star Mia McKenna-Bruce – fresh off winning the EE Rising Star award at the Baftas – leaned into springtime dressing with a white tank top and pleated skirt, and a beige trench coat thrown over the top.
Mia McKenna-Bruce (Vianney Le Caer/AP)
Blackpink singer Jisoo is a familiar face on the Dior front row – this season, she wore a belted black jacket with a crisp white shirt and tie underneath.
Jisoo (Vianney Le Caer/AP)
While presenter Alexa Chung also got the tailoring memo, wearing an off-white trouser suit with a cropped jacket.
Alexa Chung (Vianney Le Caer/AP)
Dior has been a mainstay on the red carpet this awards season – as seen on America Ferrera and Naomi Watts at the SAG Awards last weekend – and while this was mainly everyday outfits, there were a few flowing, sparkly gowns towards the end of the collection that might catch the eye of celebrity stylists.
Dune star Anya Taylor-Joy is a longstanding Dior ambassador and singer Rihanna recently signed a new deal with the brand, so perhaps they’ll be looking to the new collection for their next red carpet outfit.
Words: Prudence Wade/PA
