Dior Bears the Teddy Girls for FW19
The collection is a celebration of counterculture fashion and sisterhood.
The newest Dior collection under the creative helm of Maria Grazia Chiuri debuted yesterday at the Musée Rodin in Paris.
Chiuri spent eight years at Valentino as co-creative director before starting at Dior as the house’s first female creative director. Her fashion has been established as a means for powerful statements for a few years now, with her newest collection a literal embodiment of this vision.
Italian artist Bianaca Pucciarelli Menna, known as Tomaso Binga, was responsible for the set at the show’s venue. Binga, who went under a male pseudonym to protest male privilege, built on the collection’s theme of femininity and sisterhood with nude self portraits staged in poses that resembled letters to spell out one of her poems.
Slogan tees from this season were printed with the unifying messages “Sisterhood is Global”, “Sisterhood is Powerful”, and “Sisterhood is Forever”. Tartan prints in black, red, and white color ways along with PVC rain hats were direct references to British fashion, while iterations of John Galliano’s saddle bag and Dior’s cult favorite Book Tote stood out as the collection’s statement accessories.
For the FW19 collection, Chiuri revisited the ‘50s, specifically drawing from the British Teddy Girls in a modern and contemporary manner that was fit for her new visions at Dior. The Teddy Girls were a group of women who adopted the Edwardian dandy look to protest against idea of “good manners”, and blended counterculture fashion with social commentary and rock and roll. While their male counterpart was remembered, the Teddy Girls faded from the scene.
London’s Victoria and Albert Museum is currently hosting a sold out Dior exhibition that traces the history and influence of the fashion house’s relationship with Britain, which acted as a preview of Chiuri’s British influence.
Take a behind-the-scenes look at the show below: