Dior autumn-winter 2023-2024 ready-to-wear collection show was held at Sea World Culture and Arts Center, Shenzhen, on July 12. The show paid tribute to the friendship between China and Dior since the brand’s inception. This collection draws inspiration from various iconic figures, outlining a diverse female charm. For Maria Grazia Chiuri, each collection is an opportunity to reflect on what exactly clothing is in relationship to the body and to fashion. The reinterpretation of the 1950s — for this Dior autumn-winter 2023-2024 ready-to-wear line — is also a means for the Creative Director to explore, in ever new ways, the history of Dior and to further delve into French style by focusing on three extraordinary figures: Catherine Dior, édith Piaf and Juliette Gréco. These three women shared an independent spirit that guided their choices. Singular protagonists, each of them was able, through their lifestyle, to subvert feminine stereotypes that were part of the post-war mind set. This Dior collection is the very signature of a femininity that goes against the grain. Rebellious. At once strong and fragile. The floral motifs chosen by Monsieur Dior have been revisited: mottled fabric is interwoven with a metallic thread that breathes life into the fabric, rendering it malleable, erasing contours to obtain an abstract effect. Primary colors take center stage: ruby, emerald, topaz yellow, blue. Delicately nuanced tartan fabrics distinguish coats, jackets and straight skirts, which can also be worn beneath large coats, like the “corolle” skirts. Poplin also shimmers with metallic thread. Embroidery composes little bursts of light. Celebrating the kaleidoscopic image of a femininity outlined by powerful icons, inhabited with awareness, these creations suggest emotional paths for the new generations of women shaping our future. For Maria Grazia Chiuri, the decor for the presentation of the Dior autumn-winter 2023-2024 ready-to-wear collection plays a fundamental role in highlighting her inspiration. For this unique show, she asked the Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos, born in Paris, to occupy the venue with one of her monumental installations — Valkyrie Miss Dior. The installation creates a dialogue about Catherine Dior, a strong, independent female figure who devoted much of her life to the florist trade. In her collections, the Creative Director often pays homage to Catherine, a veritable model of female emancipation. For Joana Vasconcelos, Catherine Dior is a Valkyrie. In Norse mythology, the Valkyries are deities who serve the god Odin. The installation is a proliferation of organic forms interacting with the architecture. Joana Vasconcelos chose to use floral mottled fabrics inspired by the House’s archives, a tribute to Miss Dior’s flowers and to the splendor of nature so dear to the founding-couturier, thus connecting places, times and cultures. Her monumental work dreamed up for this Dior event occupies the space in an almost tentacular manner. Its free form, organic, from which it feels impossible to escape, is composed of fabric, lace, embroidery and crochet compositions, including “islands,” where the audience is invited to sit. Joana Vasconcelos attended the Dior autumn-winter 2023-2024 ready-to-wear collection show in Shenzhen, witnessing this splendid fusion of art and fashion with everyone. | 