Dior Couture Spring Summer 2025 “A Mockingbird”. Story by Eleonora de Gray, Editor-in-Chief of RUNWAY MAGAZINE. Photo Courtesy: Dior.

Hush, little baby, don’t say a word—Papa’s gonna buy you a mockingbird.
And if that mockingbird won’t sing, well, Dior will throw in a diamond ring and a hoop skirt while they’re at it.

Because that’s essentially what Maria Grazia Chiuri offered with her latest haute couture collection: ballet-dancer dreams in revisited crinolines (read: hula hoop cages in technicolor embroidery), paired with artificial roached hairdos that screamed “mockingbird chic.”

Let’s not sugarcoat it—this collection wasn’t exactly groundbreaking. Chiuri’s obsession with hoop skirts dominated the runway, reimagined in every possible way: embroidered, layered, sheer, opaque, black, pastel—you name it. If you’ve ever wondered what happens when a historical silhouette meets the 2025 idea of haute couture, the answer is apparently more hoops. Forget subtle references or nuanced tailoring; this was crinoline overload.

And then there was the hair—mockingbird-inspired, teased and roached to resemble a cross between a punk Mohawk and a Native American headdress. Perhaps Chiuri intended it as a nod to transformation, or maybe it was an attempt to juxtapose the softness of tulle skirts with a harder edge. Either way, it felt out of place, almost like an afterthought meant to inject some kind of irreverence into an otherwise repetitive lineup.

The artist Rithika Merchant created specially for this occasion series of “The Flowers We Grew” paintings. 

The press release tried its best to spin the collection into a poetic journey through time, a reflection on sartorial memory and transformation. It claimed that Chiuri was inspired by Dior’s archives, particularly the Trapèze line by a young Yves Saint Laurent and Monsieur Dior’s Cigale silhouette. Yet on the runway, the inspiration felt diluted, stretched thin over too many hoops and not enough innovation. The modernized crinoline, billed as the star of the show, came across as more of a one-note gimmick than an ode to couture craftsmanship.

Sure, there were some standout moments. A black moiré coat cut to perfection was a quiet nod to Dior’s tailoring roots, while an organza cape embroidered with delicate feathers had a fleeting sense of whimsy. But these pieces were exceptions in a collection that otherwise felt stuck in a loop—literally and figuratively.

Ultimately, Chiuri’s Spring-Summer 2025 couture collection felt like a nursery rhyme on repeat: nostalgic, repetitive, and lacking the sharp bite that haute couture often delivers. The mirrors in Dior’s atelier may have promised Alice’s Wonderland, but the result was more like a carousel, spinning round and round with little new to say.

And if the mockingbird won’t sing? Maybe it’s time for something other than another hoop skirt. Or, at the very least, a fresher tune.

Hush little baby, don’t lose your flair,
Papa’s gonna buy you some Dior to wear.
And if that Dior feels too tight,
Papa’s gonna add a hoop skirt in white.

If the hoop skirt makes you trip,
Papa’s gonna toss in a feathered whip.
And if those feathers start to fray,
Papa’s gonna give you mockingbird spray.

When the mockingbird look’s a flop,
Papa’s gonna bedazzle you till you drop.
Because in Dior, baby, don’t you see,
It’s all about the drama, couture, and fantasy!

See All Looks Dior Couture Spring Summer 2025