Short hemlines evoke ‘revolution and the spirit of youth’, says creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri
A new era calls for a new look. After a decade when below-the-knee hemlines have ruled fashion, Christian Dior kicked off the first post-pandemic Paris catwalk by bringing back the miniskirt.
Before her first full-scale live show since March 2020, the creative director, Maria Grazia Chiuri, said the miniskirt suits, short tunics and shift dresses with matching short coats which filled her catwalk – only a few evening gowns dropped below the knee – were about “starting again. The past two years have been super intense, and there has been an idea that maybe we should renounce fashion, because of the impact on the planet. But fashion has always been a constant in our lives. It is not just about catwalk shows. It is something that all of us are part of.”
The show began not with one model walking on to the catwalk, but with 85. Aside from six long dresses, all were in the new short silhouette. There was a double-breasted banana-bright coat worn with flat, glossy black Mary Jane sandals; sporty two pieces in boxing-ring satins; a lime shift dresses with monogram chevrons.
“I love a miniskirt,” said Chiuri backstage. “It represents revolution and the spirit of youth. And I like very much the ideas of the younger generation, right now.”