Dior pays homage to Marlene Dietrich’s refined look in New York show

The New York state of mind allowed Chiuri to ‘loosen things up’ at Dior, writes Armstrong – Getty Images

It’s that time of year when the big European fashion houses take their pre-fall shows on the road. First up, Dior, at the Brooklyn Museum in New York. What does the rarified, archly feminine Parisian house have to do with Brooklyn? Good question.

“I’ve always been inspired by the practicality of post-mid-century American style,” Maria Grazia Chiuri, Dior’s Italian creative director, explained before Monday’s show. “I grew up with those films where the women always wore sneakers on their way to work and changed their shoes once they were in the office.”

Christian Dior loved the United States too. Two years after launching his house in Paris, he opened a luxury ready-to-wear boutique on New York’s Fifth Avenue, making slightly Americanised versions of his main collections.

There were no sneakers walking down Monday’s catwalk, although Chiuri took her bow in a Dior pair which she wore with a black trouser suit. If last year’s show in Mumbai riffed heavily on classic Indian tropes, this “American collection” was less literal, more about a state of mind. That said, there were stars and stripes on a silk sweater, aviator jackets, double denim, canvas bags woven with silhouettes of the Statue of Liberty (a gift from France) and lots of black. The latter sounds like a clichéd summary of New York style – except that many of the New York editors in the front row were dressed in, yes, black.

This ‘American collection’ was more about a state of mind, says Armstrong – AP

The front row (L-R): Alexandra Shipp, Kai Schreiber, Naomi Watts, Rosamund Pike, Alba Rohrwacher and Diane Kruger – Getty Images

Dior’s pre-fall 2024 ready-to-wear collection – AP

Masculine three-piece suits and crisp white shirts with ties came as an homage to Marlene Dietrich, a German superstar who, disgusted by the Nazis, took up American citizenship but never renounced her love of European designers. “No Dior, no Dietrich,” she told Warner Brothers when negotiating her contract for Alfred Hitchcock’s Stage Fright in 1950. Eventually Warner Brothers agreed – after haggling with Dior for a 25 per cent discount.

Crisp white shirts paired with ties were an homage to Marlene Dietrich, pictured below – Getty Images

Marlene Dietrich in the film Morocco, 1930 – Getty Images

Dietrich was hardly the only woman in the US to fall for Dior. The country gave the world mass produced, practical clothes, but American women, from Marilyn Monroe, who wore a black boatneck Dior dress for her final photo shoot with Bert Stern, to Melania Trump and Jennifer Lawrence, who chose a polka dot Dior ballgown for the Oscars this year, have always found it hard to resist the house’s wasp waists and refined luxury.

Jennifer Lawrence wore Dior for this year’s Oscars – FilmMagic

It was the editor-in-chief of the American edition of Harper’s Bazaar, Carmel Snow, who named Christian Dior’s first collection in 1947 – The New Look. This week, a new generation of American actresses was represented by Anya Taylor-Joy and Rosamund Pike, who both sat in the front row.

Anya Taylor-Joy at Dior’s pre-fall 2024 show this week – AP

Rosamund Pike – Getty Images

The New York state of mind suits Dior, allowing Chiuri, who has been on a mission to infuse Dior’s emblematic, dainty tailoring with the pragmatic qualities it often lacked under its previous male designers, to loosen things up even more. Dior’s famous Bar jacket – the one that features in one of the most iconic fashion pictures of all time, taken shortly after the Second World War in Paris – is lighter and less constrictive under her watch. The silky slip dresses in this collection, worn with platform shoes, fishnets and mannish coats felt fresh, as did the chunky knitwear and beaded skirts and the mini parkas slung over tailored trousers.

“I think a Dior collection, however luxurious, should always represent a fully fleshed-out wardrobe,” says Chiuri, “and all those pieces should be versatile.” Mission accomplished and American style made great again.

More from the show…

A model wears a beaded skirt from the collection – AP

Dior’s pre-fall 2024 ready-to-wear collection

Dior’s pre-fall 2024 ready-to-wear collection

Dior’s pre-fall 2024 ready-to-wear collection

Dior’s pre-fall 2024 ready-to-wear collection

Dior’s pre-fall 2024 ready-to-wear collection

Dior’s pre-fall 2024 ready-to-wear collection

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