Although the times are unsettled and revolutionary jargon is in the air, one doesn’t expect a women’s fashion magazine to employ it as a motif, or at least, not one as haute as W. In a recent issue, I discovered a highly entertaining profile of Dior creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri, subtitled “the quiet revolutionary,” and illustrated with slogan-y artwork reminiscent of early 20th century art manifestos. How ironic, I thought, coming from the mag I read to spy on the wealthy.
This could be and likely is simply an appropriation of political language to characterize expensive designer clothes, but Chiuri makes it seem as though choosing to wear a $710 Dior t-shirt with a feminist slogan on it is in itself a revolutionary act. For the set she’s designing for, perhaps that’s true. Just choosing to wear a beret or a “striped mariniere shirt” might be regarded as rebellious if your class is more typically seen in designer athleisure and floral day dresses. Still, it’s a stretch, and even the article’s author seems dubious of Chiuri’s credentials. As for Ms. Chuiri, she insists that the design revolution at Dior is about engaging rather than escaping our times.
Perhaps my favorite moment in this interview is Chiuri’s reaction to a set of photographs by Gilles Caron taken during the Paris protests in May 1968. She can’t help but critique the women’s clothes. “Look at her, with the pearls,” she says of one young woman. “So bourgeoise.” She labels another: “super chic, that girl.” But then she’s back to her purpose, the empowerment of women. Commenting on another photo in the 1968 series, she says they remind her of “very old women,” who, despite their age, went out to protest. “You never stop, when you are old, fighting for your idea,” she says. She is speaking of herself, but in the larger scheme, she could be addressing any age.
What she thinks of the current protests and their violent critique of fashion through the looting of boutiques is another matter. But no one at W asked her about that.
