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by Tina Dimkovska aka TheOtherLagerfeld
Living in a world with millions of fashion brands and creative directors, it is safe to say that Maria Grazia Chiuri is one of the most talked about. I mean, do you expect anything less from the creative director of Dior?. Maria Grazia’s Dior sure is controversial. There are mixed opinions when it comes to her work at the legendary Maison. Some hate it, some love it, some are paid to love it; still, there is quite a debate surrounding the question “Is Maria Grazia the designer we want for Dior?”.
The story of her Dior starts back in July of 2016. It was announced that Chuiri would be taking over the brand almost nine months after her predecessor Raf Simons stepped down from the position. Even though I am not the biggest fan of Maria Grazia Chuiri as a designer I still believe that her becoming the creative director was almost revolutionary; she is the first-ever woman creative director and woman couturier at Dior.
Maria’s debut collection was the Spring 2017 Couture. This collection was all about dreaming and believing. Set in a garden and with classical music playing in the background, it set the tone of what would later define her work. The first couple of looks were all-black versions of a softened “New Look”. We only saw gowns, gowns, and more gowns; they were a reference to Dior in the 50s, the era of dramatic balls. While gowns, in general, are beautiful her interpretations were just not. Moreover, this is something that even to this day we constantly see from her couture. Even with her attempts to modernize Dior (which was almost successfully done by Raf ), it didn’t translate.
Her Fall 2017 ready-to-wear was inspired by WW2. We saw a mix of boiler suits, stiff denim, and over-worn workwear with feminine motives, a signature of the 70s. Her feminist motives are greatly appreciated but sometimes the sheer bourgeois appeal is unappealing. This was that show that gave us the ‘We Should all be Feminists–slogan’ T-shirt. Slapping the word “feminist” on a T-shirt is not enough and it does not really change the cruel world we, women, live in today. While using the platform to empower women by including transgender women, women with different body types, ethnicities, skin colors, and so on, while raising awareness for the issues we women go through every day. This was also the beginning of her infamous pencil-thin belts. Maria playing and mixed decades was impressive. A lot of underwhelming tulle, badly done denim, and a whole lot of blue.
Well, she shone in Resort 2018 with a more “fashun” and fun. Usually, with resort collections, designers do not have to go as “go big or go home” as with couture. Contrastingly, Chuiri takes her Resort collections to the next level. In this one specifically, I enjoyed that MGC gave me fashion and creativity, while still staying true to herself. The show was held in California, and the pieces gave me truly a Californian; almost a subdued Coachella vibe. Thankfully belts were styled rather appropriately here. The silhouettes were Dior, modernized to the max with petty prints.
Chuiri honored the 70th anniversary of Dior with her Fall 2017 couture collection. What inspired this collection was an illustration by Albert Decaris depicting Dior’s trips since Christian traveled a lot to show his collections the years following WW2. The collection referenced Dior’s work very well; models looked as if they were just deported through a time-traveling machine, so the clothes might be a bit boring to some. The tulle gowns were a miss to me, simply horrid. Look 37, my favorite with a coat I am simply obsessed with and rather inventive styling. Whereas, many looks were ruined with the styling and infamous thin belts. A pleasant mix of conventional masculine and feminine elements though my maximalist self could have used a little more couture.
In contrast with her couture, she played a bit (emphasize on “a bit”) for her next spring 2018. Most of the looks said ‘Hi I’m a tourist in Paris and the last thing I googled was how to dress like a Parisian’. Lots of denim, hats, berets, and stripes. Then we got some modernistic Formula 1 driver looks, which were try-hard and trashy at best. The collection ended with 5 sequined tulle gowns that I’d like to burn. Leather pieces and monogrammed looks were decent though most of it was as good as a sale section in Zara.
Things got a little bit more colorful for her Fall 2018 RTW, playing with colors and patterns. A bunch of patchworks and mixed prints. The “New Look” wasn’t as persistent in the collection, and this left a lot of room for her to explore and step out of the box. I feel like Maria experimented a bit, but still kept the over-commercial-ness of her RTWs. One piece that I simply cannot forget from the collection is the off-white wool coat (look 29), the bulky collar, and the untypical sleeves. An alright collection overall.
Spring 2018 couture is A love-hate relationship(mostly hate). I liked the idea of surrealism in fashion, but not the execution. I enjoyed the majority of the black and white contrast looks, however the rest I did not. Pretty much stuff that we have seen many times before. The conceptualization here was quite thoughtful though I suppose she turned on the wrong corner at some point on this journey.
Resort 2019 was set in France’s Chantilly Stables; rain-soaked and a riveting experience. An eight-woman squad dressed on custom Dior opened and closed the show with a powerful performance. Heavily inspired by traditional outfits of the escaramuza riders we saw Leather corsets, New Look adaptations, intricate embroidery, pleated skirts, rustic floral prints, and pretty embellishments. Definitely an MGC favorite.
She decided to keep things plain for the Fall couture 2018. I don’t like this. Don’t get me wrong, simple can be great if done well. Spoiler alert: it was not done well here. Many pieces looked unfinished which is upsetting for Couture, and the other half “already seen”. I mean we got some pattern moments here however the majority were monochromatic tulle or monochromatic silk dresses. I believe that the tulle dresses were good but repetitive. I have to admit that I am pretty much in love with a beautifully embroidered floral dress (look 52). I also enjoy the contrast between the flowy sleeves and tight pants, as well as the sleek hourglass silhouette going on. Although A very interesting mix.
For Spring 2019 RTW she decided to dress a very unfashionable grandma. At least, it seemed like it. There were only a couple of decent looks, and I didn’t despise the see-through tulle with some glitz on it. It was an overall no.
For her Spring 2019 couture, She took circus in fashion as the main inspiration, and I am Living for it. I mean, I am always living for maximalism. I like the inspiration and I feel like she explored her daring side. It seemed like a very fun collection and show to me. Many of the looks were MGC signature: hard on my eyes. However this time, they weren’t done that badly.
Her Fall 2019 RTW was expensive clothes that were not worth the price. Surprise, surprise! Boring expensive clothes with some regular old diversions. We got even more disappointed with the upcoming Resort collection. Resort 2020 was probably my least favorite resort she has ever done. Even with many references to the 1960s Dior when Yves Saint Laurent was at the helm, it couldn’t win over.
Fall 2019 couture, We can see that at this moment Maria’s Dior went downhill. Started with the question ‘are clothes modern’ Almost all in black, I did not hate the horror vibe. Tailoring was clumsy though I do not think that the problem was with the fit, I feel like it was the draping that threw me off. It was the idea.
To be fair, things got better for her Spring 2020 RTW. One of the more decent collections she did for Dior. I got a heavy Tom Soer vibe but in a good way. Her next Pre-Fall wasn’t all bad. It was cute-ish. Literally, my least favorite thing she has ever done is the Spring 2020 couture. Fringes, cheap metallics, tulle, and whatnot. Hideous. Terrible. Awful.
Fall 2020 RTW was boring, boring like never before. Didn’t feel like Dior, more like ‘Zara with a high price tag’ but I guess even Zara wouldn’t copy these.
Fall 2020 couture had a rather exquisite presentation which I am still truly obsessed with. During the world crisis after WW2, there was a shortage of fabrics. Therefore, Parisian designers would create clothes on dolls. The presentation reflected the state of the world in which we were and still are living. My explanation for not liking the clothes is that everything; from the first to the last look was something that we had seen before a million times from MGC.
For Resort 2021. The setting was somewhere in Italy, a promising collection indeed. I could not help but fall in love with the beautiful brown corsets.
Spring 2021 RTW was quite a pain to watch. The prints, the tulle, the silhouettes: everything was all over the place. I don’t even want to comment. The horrid prints, sheer gowns, the silhouettes everything was just forgettable.
The Polaroid shoots were as innovative as MGC could get for the Pre-Fall 2021, however at the same time the clothes were not. Cheap animal prints, berets, and more of the same.
I must disagree with people online saying that Maria’s best couture is Spring 2021. Yes, it was a pretty collection but there are a hundred pretty collections. She took tarot cards as an inspiration, adding up to a princess-ish dreamy fantasy that I always associate with her work. It was just a little better than her previous work but that doesn’t mean it was good.
Considering her work Fall 2021 RTW might be her best yet. I liked the brazenness of the looks along with the color pallet and set. She kept her commercial appeal while giving us fashion geeks some “Fashun”. Military-esque coats, hooded skirt suits, colorful tulle gowns it had something for everyone. Titled ‘Disturbing Beauty’ inspiration here was the allure of fairytales against the rigid rough realities.
Maria has had clear ups and downs in Dior. While I respect her work it doesn’t mean I like it. While I in no way imply that she isn’t a feminist her stance does feel rather performative with commercial motives. I have huge respect for women in fashion, let alone the first woman couturier in the legendary house of Dior but that cant be a reason to justify anyone’s work. Though her aesthetic is something that keeps her in business and it works for her clients. Seems like Maria finds inspiration from the archives and the past in her collections. While that is something vital with a heritage-rich Maison, Her work is quite repetitive and almost monotonous. Lack of diversity, fast fashion- esque clothes, and just a general sense of boredom is a constant in her work. Her tenure yet is sadly quite forgettable and it doesn’t seem to be changing anytime soon.
Girl, give us something!
Pictures courtesy of Vogue Runway
We do not own the rights to any of these images and they have been used in good faith. Every effort has been made to ensure that all images are used with proper credits. If you are the rightful owner of any image used on our site and wish to have it removed, please contact us at ayerhsmagazine@gmail.com and we will promptly remove it. We are a non-commercial, passion-driven, independent fashion blog and do not intend to infringe any copyright. Thank you for your understanding.
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