Could it be that Rihanna is just as excited as we are about the imminent arrival of Apple TV’s latest fashion drama series, The New Look, which charts the rise and rise of fashion designer Christian Dior? Certainly, her surprise appearance today at the house’s Haute Couture show in Paris would suggest so. Though - unlike we mere mortals - she doubtless has little time to devote to binging boxsets, her outfit served as a lesson in the history of Dior, as seen through the lens of a hyper-contemporary 21st Century couture consumer.
Of course, RiRi - dressed top-to-toe in fresh-from-the-catwalk couture - looked cool AF (note the ladylike puffer bar jacket, crowned with a baseball cap, elbow-length leather gloves and diamonds). But take a closer look at the fabric of Rihanna’s skirt suit. It’s moiré - a material distinguished by its hyperreal wave illusion effect, obtained by putting pressure on woven textiles to disrupt the warp and weft. Nowadays, it’s more common in interior design than clothes, though it was a popular choice in royal portraiture in the 18th Century. ‘Moiré is not something I’ve ever used in the past,’ explained Maria Grazia Chiuri, speaking at an intimate preview backstage before the show. ‘In a way it’s quite humble and simple, because it’s not over-embroidered or covered with beading, but it has historically conveyed this idea of power.’
This intersection of old and new - modernity meets heritage - was something which the house’s current creative director, Chiuri, has woven throughout her collections, and this collection was no exception. Accordingly, inspiration came from the archives the designer ventured into the archives to find inspiration in the form of the La Cigale dress, designed by Christian Dior in 1952. It was crafted from moiré, with a classic Fifties hourglass silhouette. Monsieur Dior’s original design was stuffed with tulle to pad the hips. Chiuri’s construction was more streamlined, in a lighter, less is more way. ‘We are speaking about another time - a different era - when a woman’s life was very different,’ she said. ‘My work at Dior is to take off without taking away. I wanted to create the same effect, but in a way that’s less heavy, more easy to wear.’
On the catwalk, this was translated through exaggerated cuts and voluminous proportions, but which was infused with an air of effortlessness. Wide skirts with overlapping layers and coats with imposing collars were crafted from silk the colour of a trench coat. Flowing black velvet dresses, gauzy double organza gowns and capes crafted from thousands of feathers contributed to this sense of weightlessness, as did the iridescence of the moiré fabric.
An installation of work by artist Isabella Ducrot lined the walls of the catwalk, featuring 23 oversized dresses, some five meters high. Entitled Big Aura, these were said to symbolise a power that transcends the body and the idea that each piece of couture carries its own specific aura as it is designed for one individual wearer, never to be replicated or reproduced. Case in point, Rihanna - her look, attitude, and aura, without doubt, unique.
