PARIS (AP) — Pioneering black performer Josephine Baker (who left the U.S. in the 1920s to gain worldwide fame in Paris) is Dior’s muse for the quintessentially classicist old-school Spring Couture collection. was.
With caressing velvet and silk, embroidery, sequins and tiny silver studs, designer Maria Grazia Chiuri may not have reinvented the wheel, but she certainly made the opening day of Paris Fashion Week. I decorated it beautifully on Monday.
But the first day of the event was not without controversy after Dior was criticized for inviting a Russian influencer sanctioned by Ukraine. It has been the subject of online outrage for glorifying trophy hunting.
Here are some highlights from the first day of the spring-summer haute couture display.
The perfume-scented interior of the annex, set in the gardens of the Rodin Museum, was juxtaposed with African-American artist Michaelen Thomas’s colossal image of Josephine Bake alongside other black female icons.
Desolate tableau photographs chronicle Baker’s extraordinary life and her many roles. Members of the French Resistance, civil rights activists, humanists, dancers and performers.
Guests sat in their seats with great interest and excitement.
According to Dior, a series of coats, the bathrobe-style take represents “a cozy and intimate dressing room that precedes (Baker’s) stage entry.” From a couture perspective, they were undeniably beautiful, albeit somewhat restrained.The first was silk velvet. A black diamond lapel hangs with dramatic weight. In 1950s style, it was worn over a delicately smocked satin bathing suit. Cut out and evoke the power of a quiet woman. It was worn over evening robes of shimmering crushed velvet to suggest intimacy.
Chiuri then let her hair down and added fringes.
This theme created expectations that Dior’s clothing itself might offer a powerful exploration of racism and being black, but the collection itself remained very Parisian. It was little more than a veiled homage to a black pioneer who fought a lifelong battle against , gender and nationality.
That said, due to the fact that Paris Fashion Week and the luxury industry as a whole have struggled with persistent accusations of being white, how many models of color in more than half of the 60 looks make the show. It was great to walk. -center.
Maisie Williams to play Dior’s sister
‘Game of Thrones’ star Maisie Williams poses into the photographer’s lens flash in her pixie hairstyle and Dior bustier for images of stars like Earth Kit, Nina Simone and Baker I watched every inch of him picking up
Williams called coming to the show “a dream come true.” One of the reasons is that she’s just played Dior’s sister, Catherine, in her highly anticipated Apple TV drama, The New Look, which focuses on her bitter rivalry with couturiers. That’s why. Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel.
Williams, who rose to fame playing the feisty Arya Stark, told the Associated Press that “I think Dior Woman is something to really aspire to,” and that the outfit is “powerful” for women.
“The women I love to play have the qualities to match,” she said.
Licensed Russian influencers invited
Dior has invited a Russian TV presenter named Yana Rudkovskaya, who was sanctioned by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on January 15 for her ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, to a couture show in Paris. The extension sparked criticism online. Other houses reportedly refused to participate in influencer Rudkovskaya’s show.
Rudkovskaya posted a photo of her Dior Couture invitation on Instagram. Some journalists asked, “How many other sanctioned Russians are attending the Paris Haute Couture?”
Schiaparelli adds a surreal twist
It embraces glamorous flirty, exaggerated silhouettes and surreal classics that recall the 1930s, the heyday of Maison founder Elsa Schiaparelli.
That was the mood of the season’s first spring-summer couture show. — With lashings of gold, intricate décor, and the call of the front-row VIPs, inside the soaring gilded atrium of the Petit Palais.
Designer Danielle Rosebery was at her best on Monday, taking a classic style and adding an unexpected twist. A dark tuxedo with tight oversized shoulders was a minimalistic space-age look. Reborn as a jumpsuit.
A bronze bustier inspired by a giant oyster shell rises like a fan over the model’s face. Its incredible pearl embellishments have been rendered with organic crystallized layers that accentuate the dexterity of the home’s atelier.
A myriad of embellished baubles—almost resembling wet pearls—dripped organically from puffy bolero jackets that cut out beautiful silhouettes, presumably belonging to an underwater princess.
But the collection also paid tribute to the founder of the Maison, whose unique frivolity captivated audiences around the world. A giant lion head full of fangs and bushy manes was modeled by Irina Shayk and bit into this collection. It was also a statement.
Kylie Jenner, who sat front row at Schiaparelli, also sporting a 3D lion head and gold snakeskin bag, was criticized online amid accusations of glorifying animal cruelty. .
Iris van Herpen goes digital
Against the grain of Paris Fashion Week turning its back on digital, Dutch Wonderkind said of her latest couture product: For more creative freedom and storytelling. “
She teamed up with French artist Julie Gauthier for a direct presentation to accompany the collection film Carte Blanche, which explores how female beauty can be used as a form of control.
The supple red dress, with inches of exposed flesh streaks, resembled a poisonous sea creature. Organic inspiration from award-winning couturiers who have designed for artists such as Björk. The rippling pieces of the gown’s rich blue and silver fabric flowed generously underwater, touching the
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