Immediately upon her arrival at Dior, Maria Grazia Chiuri set about tackling what has long been a challenge for the house: daywear. She undertook that task at a politically charged moment in the culture, a moment that spurred her to include her now-famous “We should all be feminists” T-shirts in her debut collection last season.
Still, it was a surprise during a backstage preview when Chiuri used the word “genderless” as part of the appeal of the color blue, on which she built her fall collection. If there were ever a house with a gender-specific aura, it’s the historically ultrafeminine Dior (though its men’s in the age of Hedi certainly had crossover appeal). It would be a total misrepresentation of the conversation to imply that Chiuri dwelled on the concept of gender fluidity, or that it was a primary reason for her invocation of the color. (That distinction goes to a quote from Christian Dior, written in “The Little Dictionary of Fashion.”) But it does speak to a matter that could get in Chiuri’s way if she’s not careful. In a perfect world, none of us would let our jobs compromise firmly held philosophical and ideological beliefs. But slogan clothes aside, pants, jackets and shirts are
Follow WWD on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.Read More…