For Maria Grazia Chiuri, fashion is a vector of transformation. For this Dior ready-to-wear autumn-winter 2025-2026 show, the Creative Director of Dior women’s lines wanted to revisit the memories and gestures that belong to the Dior’s heritage by forging a pluralistic dialogue with the history of fashion. The purpose of this proposition is to demonstrate how clothing is a receptacle that affirms cultural, aesthetic, and social codes. The exploration of the stories traversing fashion and its digressions allows the celebration of a femininity that imagines possible futures by mixing evocations of a past that is ever closer to the contemporary wardrobe.
The wardrobe, a symbol of metamorphosis, reveals frills in the shape of a removable collar, worn or not, according to the spirit aimed at; a fluctuating element – echoing the perception we have of ourselves –, an evolution of the Orlando ruff –inspired by the eponymous character of Virginia Woolf’s novel–, from a distant era that defies time and genres. Like the visual dramaturgy of Robert Wilson, who choreographed the movements of models in a theater, a world in mutation: the colors shift, from dark to light, punctuating the scene changes. A swing, a prehistoric bird, rocks, craters, and finally the emergence of an iceberg.
The different influences running through the Dior lines interact and draw a map, marked also by the return of the J’adore Dior t-shirt signed John Galliano. Another restored reference is the cut-out and appliqué embroidery, offset by technical jackets. Like dematerialized crinolines, black velvet ribbons, attached with baroque pearls, bring texture to skirts and dresses.
Synonymous of lightness, the transparency finishing the shirts contrasts with the matte black felt of the hyper-structured coats that follow the curves of the body. Shoulders are rounded to shape the silhouette, while masculine jackets are combined with bustiers. The tailcoat is back. Lace collars are added. Shiny/matte, black/white. Utilitarian pieces, such as raincoats, are part of the ensemble and illuminate a daily life that takes us back to the heart of our history.
