Dior Pre-Fall 2024

Miles Socha
·2 min read
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Maria Grazia Chiuri always looks at the rich history of Dior through a unique lens — closely studying the women who surrounded founder Christian Dior and those who wore his clothes.

For her pre-fall collection, she focused on Marlene Dietrich, whose Hollywood career and public image were intricately tied to the French house, and whose gender-bending style was revolutionary and reverberates still.

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“No Dior, no Dietrich,” is what the German actress and singer reportedly told Alfred Hitchcock when the formidable director selected her for a role in “Stage Fright,” a 1950 thriller noir.

Dietrich was among the first women to wear menswear in public in the ’30s, and sparked a fashion fad in Berlin, New York and Paris. She had a soft spot for tuxedos, and soigné evening gowns, too.

Chiuri, herself a lifelong fan of the masculine wardrobe and the comfort and freedom it affords women, delighted in exploring this complex character, “so conscious about herself” — and so adept at using clothing and “the fashion system” to shape her public persona.

“She was the first superstar in a way. She was also a woman who broke the rules,” Chiuri said during a preview. “I really love all her looks, because they’re so iconic… She was very revolutionary, very independent, and very free.”

For her look book shoot, Chiuri styled her models’ hair with Victory Rolls, a signpost of the ’40s popularized by Hollywood starlets, and dotted the photo set with film-reel cameras and vintage stage lanterns.

This created a pleasing retro vibe and heightened the cinematic glamour of Chiuri’s pinch-waist skirt suits, jersey dresses with geometric necklines, handsome trenchcoats, crisp tuxedo shirts and full-legged pants.

This polished, soigné collection spans 116 looks, enough for Chiuri to weave in a sub-narrative about Paris and New York, dynamic cities that both Dietrich and Dior straddled, the latter adapting his creativity to American lifestyles and setting up a workshop in Manhattan to serve a vast market that embraced his Parisian sensibilities. Cue arty black-and-white prints featuring the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty.

Chiuri said she first learned about America by watching Hollywood movies and only made her first trip to New York when she was 18.

Now would be a good time for her to make a Manhattan dash: The exhibition “Play the Part: Marlene Dietrich” is on until Jan. 8 at The International Center of Photography, showcasing 250 snapshots, publicity stills, film stills and other images from 1905 to 1978.

These include a 1947 Life magazine cover of Dietrich wearing Dior’s New Look, which Chiuri gave a slimmer, zestier line for pre-fall.

Launch Gallery: Dior Pre-Fall 2024 Preview

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