Dior Haute Couture Spring Summer 2024 “Where Philosophy Trumps Fashion”. Story by Eleonora de Gray, Editor-in-Chief of RUNWAY MAGAZINE. Photo Courtesy: Dior.

In a masterclass of haute couture confusion, Dior’s Spring-Summer 2024 collection has given a whole new meaning to the phrase “philosophy meets fashion.” Maria Grazia Chiuri appears to have executed a brilliant disappearing act, making the actual clothing vanish and leaving attendees scratching their heads as if they stumbled into a beige-themed purgatory.

Forget the cutting-edge designs – it seems Chiuri decided to raid her own closet of unsold haute couture dresses and generously coat them in the most thrilling shade known to mankind: beige, the color that screams, “I gave up, but I’m doing it fashionably.” It’s like the fashion equivalent of microwaving leftovers and pretending it’s a gourmet meal.

However, the real star of the show wasn’t the lackluster clothing but the perplexing attempt to fuse artist Isabella Ducrot’s story and vision into a collection that would make even the most avant-garde art critic raise an eyebrow. It’s as if Chiuri threw a philosophical grenade onto the runway, hoping it would distract everyone from the fact that the emperor – or in this case, the designer – had no creative collection to show.

In a desperate attempt to mask the absence of a cohesive fashion narrative, Chiuri barricaded the runway with art jargon, leaving fashion enthusiasts wondering if they accidentally stumbled into an existential crisis with a side of misplaced artistic expression.

Twenty-three colossal dresses, standing at a towering five meters, were strategically placed on a composition of irregular black stripes that apparently symbolized weft and warp. Because nothing says high fashion like the essence of weaving, right?

Ducrot drew inspiration from Ottoman sultans’ dresses, aiming to symbolize a power that transcends the body. Well, forgive us for thinking that the power of transcending bodies should probably be left to superheroes, not haute couture. But fear not, for Maria Grazia Chiuri, the Creative Director of Dior women’s lines, had a revelation – an aura revelation.

According to Chiuri, ‘Big Aura’ is what pervades haute couture, a perpetually fertile ground for contemplation where the reproduction of the original is never the same. Excuse us, but we thought we were here for fashion, not a metaphysical journey into the essence of uniqueness and authenticity. Although it’s great as there’s nothing else to see. Walter Benjamin’s definition of aura is invoked, presumably to add an intellectual veneer to what essentially boils down to oversized, ostentatious garments.

The collection traces its roots to the La Cigale dress from 1952, a piece that apparently evokes the sacredness of the Atelier. Because nothing says sacred like a dress, right? Moiré, described as unfurling over winter like a wave, takes center stage in a palette of shades that would make a peacock blush – gold, white, gray, burgundy, green. Clearly, the color wheel has been reinvented for the Dior disciples.

But let’s not forget the black velvet dresses that flow like a poetic river, accompanied by a feather cape resting on an embroidered double organza dress. The embroidery, we’re told, is like fragments of ancient poems unearthed. Well, call us archaeologists, because we’re trying to decipher whether we’re witnessing a fashion show or an excavation site.

Congratulations again to Dior for its Haute Couture Spring Summer 2024 collection. What we got is a magnificent display of art, a riveting story, and the unparalleled vision of Isabella Ducrot. But when it comes to Dior’s signature fashion, it seems to have gone mission in action, leaving us with no question, no clothes… no happening.

See All Looks Dior Haute Couture Spring Summer 2024