IN HER SHOES

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The cover of Her Dior: Maria Grazia Chiuri’s New Voice (Rizzoli)

PROFILE

Dior creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri celebrates the women who inspire her and her designs in a new tome

BY NATASHA WOLFF

Anew book, Her Dior: Maria Grazia Chiuri's New Voice (Rizzoli), celebrates the vision of Dior’s celebrated creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri through a collection of photographs and essays. Since her appointment in 2016 as the first female creative director of Dior, the house founded by Christian Dior in 1947, Chiuri’s feminist spirit has been on display. “This book for me represents the kaleidoscope of voices and visions that the House of Dior embodies today,” says Chiuri. “This book is a living project, but most importantly it is open, a step in a constantly renewed process of defining intentions through immediate and powerful imagery.”

The tome showcases 160 images by leading female photographers such as Nan Goldin, Sarah Moon and Vanina Sorrenti that represent the maison’s ethos and style. “I chose women photographers because I wanted a female gaze capable of reflecting that of another woman and restoring its intensity,” says Chiuri. “Each of the chosen photographers also contributed to a reflection on Dior, the identity of the House and its codes. Regardless of their style, studies or aesthetics, their interpretation of the House is what unites them in this book.”

Maria Grazia Chiuri, photographed by Maripol in Paris in 2016

Showcasing the designer’s haute couture and ready-to-wear collections from 2017 to 2021, the book also includes quotes and poems by artists and writers Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Linda Nochlin and Judy Chicago. “The naturalness of this ‘female conversation’ is what I want to celebrate, a point of view that is both intimate and courageous, open to the outside world, and free of judgment and paternalism,” says Chiuri. The designer loved the idea of this collaboration being by women for women. “I feel more comfortable sharing my vision with other women, especially because the themes I address are closely linked to an idea of femininity as a physical as well as mental experience….This book is about how I express my feminist activism: through the celebration of beauty, feminine creativity and the desire to create extraordinary, committed, daring and self-confident fashion.” ■

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