[ot-caption title=”With every new creative director comes a new era for the house of Dior, and Maria Grazia Chiuri’s recent addition is no exception. (via ErikaB/Pixabay)”]

[spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]Christian Dior, famous for founding the iconic fashion house of Dior, was the quintessence of a couturier. Although he passed away in 1957, his vision still plays a major role in the fashion world today. After World War II, he brought a refreshing new style to the table, one that was considered “a revolution in fashion” by Bettina Ballard, former fashion editor at Vogue. His goal was to tailor his designs to women to emphasize their beauty. In his own words, “I wanted my dresses to be ‘constructed’, moulded on the curves of the female body whose contours they would stylise. I accentuated the waist, the volume of the hips, I emphasized the bust.” He hoped to bring women out of the styles of WWII and into an age of beauty.

[spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]In an effort to continue Christian Dior’s vision, numerous creative directors have led the fashion house since. Past creative directors include Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Bohan, Gianfranco Ferré, John Galliano, Bill Gaytten, and Raf Simons. The most recent creative director who stepped down just this year, Raf Simons, designed a modernized interpretation of the founder’s original vision by using large skirts, bright colors, floral patterns and peplum to shine a new light on this ever-evolving house. Raf was able to link the modernity and energy of Christian Dior’s time to that of today by using color, structure, and a whole lot of femininity.   Previous creative directors brought their own flare as well. Using everything from buttons, bows, metallic colors, oversized accessories, hats and unique silhouettes, Dior has done it all.

[spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]Living up to these expectations is no easy task, but newly appointed Maria Grazia Chiuri did exactly that. Previously, Chiuri worked as the co-creative director of Valentino, the successor to Valentino himself. She and partner Pierpaolo Piccoli helped bring a modernity to Valentino, as well as bring in $1 billion dollars in revenue to the house and she was hired to keep that same modernity a constant theme in her collections for Dior, in an ongoing effort to make sure the classic stays relevant.

[spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]Designing for the Valentino runway is not all Chiuri is famous for. On numerous occasions her looks have dazzled everyone on the red carpet. As a designer, Chiuri understands what makes a winning red carpet moment, and Valentino dominated best-dressed lists during awards season. Most notably, she is the first female creative director of Dior. In an interview, she described her role as a “tremendous responsibility of being the first woman in charge of creation in a house so deeply rooted in the pure expression of femininity.” Especially in a house dedicated to a woman’s beauty, finally having a female creative director is an essential step in the right direction.

[spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]Chiuri recently debuted her Spring Summer 2017 Collection centered on the idea of feminism and the modern woman. She describes it as “Fashion that corresponds to their changing needs, freed from the stereotypical categories of “masculine/feminine”, “young/not so young”, “reason/emotion”, which nonetheless also happen to be complementary aspects.” The collection was mostly black and white with a few red ensembles and wispy dresses with hints of pastel. Trends included sheer tops and bottoms, knee-high boots, visors, leather, chokers, intricate appliques, sweaters, and nude dresses with sketch-like designs. The collection also showcased fencing apparel that Chiuri described as a “balance between thought and action, the harmony between mind and heart are essential. The uniform of the female fencer is, with the exception of some special protections, the same as for a male fencer.” She is bridging the gap between men’s and women’s fashion, and leading the fashion house into the next chapter of its history. Additionally, several models sported t-shirts that read “We should all be feminists,” and “dio(r)evolution.” She is moving Dior in a completely different direction that has captivated and enthralled the fashion world.

[spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]The purpose of fashion is to evolve clothing to fit the trends of our changing world. Christian Dior was inspired to create his fashion house for this exact reason. World War II ended, but the stiff styles of the time period stayed the same. As Dior described it, “We were emerging from the period of war, of uniforms, of women-soldiers built like boxers. I drew women-flowers, soft shoulders, fine waists like liana and wide skirts like corolla.” The same way that Dior changed the world of fashion in the 1940s, Maria Grazia Chiuri is introducing new concepts into her clothing to fit the feminist women of today’s society. As former creative designer of Dior and founder of his namesake brand Yves Saint Laurent put it, “Fashions fade, style is eternal.”

[spacer height=”10px” id=”2″] Sources: Dior, Wikipedia, New York Times, Viva, Telegraph UK, Brainy Quote, Pixabay