DIOR: The Amazons and Arrows of Maria Grazia Chiuri

In her latest collection for Dior, inspired by the Olympic spirit still present in Paris that hosted the Summer Olympics, Maria Grazia Churi celebrated the power of the garment, the Amazons and courageous femininity. Here is everything you need to know about the Spring-Summer 2025 show.

The Amazone dress is back

“If you look at the archives of the Dior, you can always find references to the Amazon. Galliano was often inspired by it. But initially, Christian Dior was referencing the riders in England in the 19th century. It’s an idea of the female sport, as well,” Maria Grazia explained backstage the concept behind her Spring-Summer 2025 collection. She also wanted to rework the concept of the garment and what it means, so she assembled and reinterpreted cuts from the archives, starting with the Amazone dress, dreamed by Christian Dior for Autumn-Winter 1952. A symbol of a strong spirit and an autonomous, courageous femininity, fusing elegance and athleisure ease. In the collection, it has been reworked in an array of sporty body suits, trenches, tailored jackets with off-kilter necklines and even ball gowns, crafted from functional jersey for the occasion.

Between art and sports

Maria Grazia Chiuri is always passionate about artistic collaborations, so we got used to her sets being inspired by the works of the most prominent female artists of our time. This season was no exception. The designer asked the modern Amazon, SAGG Napoli, an Italian artist who uses archery, one of the oldest sports in the world, in her work, to perform in the catwalk space live during the show: while models were marching to the sounds of hits by Charli XCX and FKA Twigs, the artist and competitive archer was exercising in a transparent corridor running the length of the catwalk, sending arrows to the target in the form of an eye that created a breathtaking sensation.

“To have patience means to trust a process and set intentions and goals, to move towards each one of them, slowly allowing the technical movements to sync with your muscles and your mind. When you miss the target, you have to understand why you missed it (often it’s not only technical factors to do with your equipment, but instead can be your own body position and your mind), to learn to accept that things break and you don’t always have to fix them”, the artist said in the show notes, who also created the blue-coloured installation for the show space, decorated with her catchy and inspiring phrases such as “Avoid to avoid”, “I don’t know if I’ve ever shined, but I have resisted”, “May the building of a strong mind and a strong body be the greatest work I have ever made” or “Calm, Courageous, Consistent”.

Black and White

Next season we will be dressing in black and white. According to Maria Grazia, this contrast of colours highlights the graphic lines in our wardrobes, therefore she used it throughout the collection in her functional officewear and sportswear, but also in her checked motorcycle jackets, striped mesh dresses, trenches and Miss Dior denim.

Olympic Spirit

Though for the most part the collection was crafted in black and white, there were several splashes of other colours: for example, swimwear with or without fringes in gold, silver and rose gold, a nod to the Olympic games and its winners. The Olympic spirit and glory are still present in the city, that triumphantly hosted the Games this summer, so when Brigitte Macron was spotted sitting front row next to the LVMH boss Bernard Arnault and the queen of Norway, Sonja Haraldsen, it seemed only natural that Dior, as the Maison that dressed most of the star performers including Celine Dion, Aya Nakamura, Yseult and Lady Gaga during opening and closing ceremonies, is choosing the sports theme this season.

Courtesy: Dior

Text: Lidia Ageeva