Dior AW23: steel skirts, haute gorpcore and garconne beauty
I’m very much enjoying all the variations on classics at the AW23 shows. Sacai, Saint Laurent, Bottega and Prada are doing it for me – and Dior, of course.
Almost entirely in black, the Dior AW23 show was a ‘reincarnation’ of 50s French Girl Style, with Édith Piaf, Juliette Gréco and Catherine Dior (Mr Dior’s sister) the season’s muses. More ‘The New Garconne’ than The New Look, if you will. My top five takeaways…
STEEL SKIRTS. It feels like there’s a major shift away from sweatpants and massive trousers to skirts of all descriptions. At Dior, full pleat and calf length hobblesome skirts (made from fabric with stainless steel thread woven into the weft for a gently lived-in look) avoided 50s pastiche territory thanks to their non-twee styling and indie-girl makeup.
COCKTAIL PUFFERS. Houndstooth check puffers were light, loose and effortless, while an evening puffer in moiré silk was the gorpcore-glam hybrid piece of dreams – perfect for rainy London society soirées. With a couple of excellent trenches in the mix, watch out Burberry, Dior might steal your thunder…
SOCKS WITH EVERYTHING. The reason those 50s-esque silhouettes look modern? The casual styling, in particular the black superfine wrinkled socks, teamed with contrasting pale Mary Jane and ankle strap comma heels.
ARCHIVE FLORALS. A floral tribute ran through the show, a reference to muse Catherine Dior who grew and sold flowers during the war as a symbol of hope. The set design was phenomenal, the creation of artist Joana Vasconcelos, whose bulbous sculptures were covered in floral patterned fabric and beads from past Dior collections. Meanwhile, the blurry abstract floral prints on wrap dresses and skirts were revived from the archive. I especially love the skirt and short leather bomber combo.
GARCONNE BEAUTY. Of course, I loved the gamine crops – this entire look on Greta Hofer is short hair goals. The pixie cut and major dark eye is a winning combination; Peter Philips makes it look so simple. It’s an intense eyeliner-smoky-eye hybrid but ‘worn down’, concentrated on the inner and outer corners of the eye and using the central pitch black shade from the 5 Color Couture Palette Black Bow palette* on top of the Dior Show 24h Stylo* in matte black. Brows were slightly enhanced and elongated using Dior On Set Brow* and lips were left neutrally coloured. (Should you want more hair adornment, straw tiaras are a thing.)
P.S: for more throwback French Girl Style, enjoy this 80s gem from Clive James, featuring Beatrice Dalle, Ines de la Fressange and Françoise Sagan …
WORDS: Disneyrollergirl / Navaz Batliwalla
IMAGES: Dior AW23; Adrien Dirand
NOTE: Most images are digitally enhanced. Some posts use affiliate links* and PR samples. Please read my privacy and cookies policy here
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