After two seasons of non-stop downpours and soggy front rows, the sun is finally shining in Paris for the AW25 shows. This morning kicked off with Zomer, the upcoming, arty-farty label founded by Dazed’s Imruh Asha and designer Danial Aitouganov, and later we’ve got Acne Studios and Jun Takahashi’s latest Undercover show to get excited about. First up though, is a big one: that’s right, it’s Dior day, with the house setting up a huge cube as it always does in the Jardin des Tuileries. What did Maria Grazia Chiuri have in store for us this time? Here’s everything you need to know.
Maria Grazia’s little black book is chock-a-block with famous friends, with the designer pulling in everyone from Rihanna to Rosalía during her time steering the house. This time around was no different, as she invited actors Lily James and Natalia Portman to line her front row. Also bombarded by fans and papa outside was Tems, who took Dazed behind the scenes of what it’s like to attend a Dior show – keep your eyes on Dazed Fashion as that’s dropping soon.
Guests piled into a stripped back showspace enshrouded in darkness, lined only by thin rows of neon lighting that gave the space a futuristic Tron-like feel. At the centre illuminated by a bright white beam was a swing whose ropes extended all the way from the ceiling. Bathed in low level frequencies, the whole thing had a comforting, womb-like feel to it and I definitely disassociated at one point – which was kind of needed after running the gauntlet that is the pathway up to a Dior show.
Maria Grazia has long been a champion of female artists and this time she turned her attention to Virginia Woolf’s seminal classic, Orlando. It’s a book that’s inspired countless fashion designers across the years, and for good reason – the titular character traversed time and space and blurs the boundaries between gender, long before that was ever really a thing. An OG androgynous legend! The show itself was broken down into five sections and featured playful, elemental features– ice peaks emerged from the floor, lava engulfed the runway, asteroids plummeted from the ceiling, and a papery bird flapped overhead. Big teradactyl mood! And so far, so dramatic.
This was an epic show even by Dior’s standards, with Maria Grazia traversing time and space and dodging up inspiration from a massive swathe of different eras. In a pre-show conversation, the designer said she’d really wanted to focus on the shirt for AW25, given its ubiquity in our wardrobes whatever your gender might be. That meant loads of looks based on the humble style, with starched, classic versions layered with nipped-in velvet waistcoats, and other more frilly frou-frou numbers with Broderie-Anglaise and embroidered detailing worn under beaded empire-line column gowns and little leather mini dresses with sculptural skirts and sleeves. Also inspiring Maria Grazia was Gianfranco Ferré’s offerings, with lightweight trenches and tailoring paying homage to the ease and airiness of Dior’s former creative director’s reign.
Maria Grazia is a big one for a slogan tee (remember those ‘We Should All Be Feminists’ numbers?) and this time she resurrected an iconic one from the vaults. Often imitated, but never bettered, on the agenda for AW25 was John Galliano’s career-defining ‘J’adore Dior’ tank. Expect to see it everywhere come the fall.
