Humble is Haute
Christian Dior Resort 2021
The current pandemic we live in has inspired the next generation of practicle, couture-inspired Ready to Wear.
Vogue editor Nicole Phelps wrote in her recent article outlining Dior’s 2021 resort collection that “Resort shows have become a flash point for the fashion industry. The pandemic has brands rethinking their expense, their environmental impact, and the designer burnout they’re responsible for, and some big names have pledged to cancel them.” This couldn’t have been any more relevant this season for Dior. From fabric to styling choices, Maria Grazia Chiuri is defining a comfortable way to adapt to our new “stay-at-home” culture.
It was very important for the design team at Dior to partake in resort and cruisewear this season because they are crucial places for their brand to tell stories and give their brand a lifestyle that comes full-circle. Oppertunities like this inpsire customers for the life to come post-COVID, but also lets them know they aren’t forgotten.
Part of how Dior staged a great story this season was the setting they chose for their virtual runway expirience. Designers have to be more strategic than ever in their strategies to showcase new clothing because with the heavy content circulating fashion weeks online it is easy for videos to become saturated into one an other. Setting themselves apart, Dior chose to show in a small town on the coast of Southern Italy in front of gorgeous colored lights in the middle of the town’s center square. The small town feel was a great way to inpsire creatives to keep working on projects no matter where they are quarentined to.
Chiuri likes to celebate small parts of European culture in her resort collections to inspire the clothing to be worn in magnificant destinations. Clothing should be dreamy and invoke thought, so even if many vacations are put on pause right now, it is not a bad thing to excite customers about what is to come in the future. Reaching out to locals and collaborating was a small gesture that went a long way here. Marinella Senatore lined the piazza, Marilena Sparacsi embellished dresses in emboridery, and Le Constantine Foundation worked on textile design. The orchastra and dancers were also local as well. Chiuri wanted to let the locals around her to not forget their old traditions, so was happy to let the towns people practice their craft and contribute to the collection in collaboration.
What bridged this collection between humble and haute was in the small details. “Pinafore dresses, blanket-fringe skirts, and hand-knit sweaters” … “Models wore kerchiefs in their hair and flat boots on their feet,” wrote Phelps. This collection was different from other collections on the runway who are celebrating the same trends was because of how comfortable the garments were. Additions like boots and practicle accessories were featured. The styling was also approachable, which gives the pieces a great opperutnity to sell online. This virtual destination expirience reached over 20 million viewers online who tuned in to the first ever full round of YouTube runway shows. Dior did a great job of setting themselves apart this season through simply embracing who they are and what is around them… and we are here for it!
