- Title: Bonjour Madame: Dior's new designer makes star-studded entrance
- Date: 30th September 2016
- Summary: ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** VARIOUS OF RIHANNA BACKSTAGE FASHION DESIGNER, ALBER ELBAZ, BACKSTAGE (SOUNDBITE) (English) DIOR CREATIVE DIRECTOR, MARIA GRAZIA CHIURI, SAYING: "The house of Dior, when they decided to chose a woman, they did a huge decision because it's evident that it's something new. And so I said 'I want to speak about that'." CHIURI'S RINGS (SOUNDBITE) (English) DIOR CREATIVE DIRECTOR, MARIA GRAZIA CHIURI, SAYING: "I think the women are strong and fragile at the same time. I think they want to feel well, I think they want to feel beautiful themselves." RIHANNA BACKSTAGE WITH TOLEDANO (SOUNDBITE) (French) DIOR CEO, SIDNEY TOLEDANO, SAYING: "She has experience and she knows what a dress is, she knows what shoes are, she knows what accessories are. And it's her vision of the woman of the future that's interesting, and only a woman can have that intuition and she's proved it." VARIOUS OF CHIURI AND BENNETT POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS
- Embargoed: 15th October 2016 17:42
- Keywords: fashion Dior Maria Grazia Chiuri show Paris week Rihanna Kate Moss Haley Bennett
- Location: PARIS, FRANCE
- City: PARIS, FRANCE
- Country: France
- Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Fashion
- Reuters ID: LVA00651REIJD
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS NUDITY
Dior's first female creative director made a star-studded debut in Paris on Friday (September 30).
Maria Grazia Chiuri showed her first collection for the brand since joining from Valentino, in front of a full house of A-listers including Rihanna, Kate Moss, Haley Bennett and Karlie Kloss.
Her arrival in July came after months of searching, following the unexpected departure of Raf Simons last year.
Her message for modern women is a distinctly feminist one.
Kitted out in white quilted jackets, reminiscent of fencing plastrons, and with trainers on their feet, Chiuri's woman was ready for anything the world could throw at her.
But the designer also brought a touch of the delicate embellishments which became her signature at Valentino, with dreamlike fantasy scenes embroidered on a series of floaty tulle skirts.
To a soundtrack of Beyonce's "Flawless", with its message of female empowerment, she even showed one T-shirt that read simply: "We should all be feminists".
The show closed with a series of long black and nude tulle dresses with knit lingerie and embroideries of a moon, stars, the devil and the sun.
Dior CEO Sidney Toledano said Chiuri's spirit was empowering women and nurturing a dialogue with consumers on social media.
He said it was not only her experience but her sense of where fashion is going that gave her the edge.
"It's her vision of the woman of the future that's interesting, and only a woman can have that intuition and she's proved it," he said.
Dior is the second biggest fashion brand behind Louis Vuitton within the LVMH luxury empire of more than 70 brands and generates more than 5 billion euros ($5.62 billion) in annual sales. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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