PARIS - Dior went back to nature in its Paris fashion week show on Tuesday with Greta Thunberg plaits and a garden-inspired collection that seemed to spring straight from the earth.
These were not the dainty pink roses of Dior yore but sinuous survivors, thistles and other prickly customers flowering on stoney ground. The Italian designer also pushed the couture boundaries by using hemp and raffia in eye-catchingly unusual ways, with a layered raffia ballgown and flower-embroidered raffia waistcoats.
RESISTANCE HERO The couturier's first perfume, Miss Dior, was named after her, and Chiuri felt her legacy had been a little forgotten. Chiuri said she was struck by a phrase of Christian Dior's after the war,"Fortunately there are the flowers" - which she took as a sign of hope after the dark days of World War II."The important issue for everybody, not just in fashion, is to be more responsible about what we do," she said.
'WITCH-HUNT ATMOSPHERE' She upcycled old curtains, sheets and table linen into outfits for the"survivors" of the impending calamity, though she left a note of hope by including a pregnant model, the second of the day in the spring summer shows.