Christian Dior Spring/Summer 2018

“Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?” read Sasha Pivovarova’s marinière sweater. There have been plenty, but the point lay in the fact that female artists have been consistently overlooked or sidelined in the boys club of the art world. It should be noted that this can also apply to the fashion world. After all, Maria Grazia Chiuri was the first female creative director at the house of Dior. The designer is intent on driving home her feminist messages each season since joining the French house, and hers is not the only runway with the mission in mind. Season after season, female artists have inspired her collections, like the Georgia O’Keeffe-inspired Cruise collection. This season she turned to French-American artist and former Dior model Niki de Saint Phalle, whose photographs can be found in the Dior archive. De Saint Phalle found her calling in art after suffering a breakdown, and her sculptures not only informed the backdrop for the show, but they also inspired everything from the bodice of dresses to the cracked colored mirrors on the mini dresses that closed the show.

Political climates often go hand-in-hand with how women dress and Grazia Chiuri has her finger on the pulse. These clothes are not meant only for lunching and dining and social engagements—although those that buy them can certainly afford to do just that—but for women with meaningful agendas. Even women of the one percent are pursuing their own career paths these days and just about everyone can be, at some point, found in a pair of jeans. Denim was introduced throughout the collection, particularly in some very desirable paneled blue jeans in various blue hues. Shoes also came with short stacked heels in Mary Janes and knee-high lace-up mesh boots. Practicality (in some moments) is a modern desire even in these realms.