Dior Chasseresse, with a powerful femininity

Sport, fashion and action at Dior, with a surprisingly sporty collection, whose star was the Neapolitan artist SAGG Napoli, in the role of the contemporary Diane Chasseresse.

A much-loved figure in France (it is difficult to find a park here without a figure of Diana and her bow drawn) was the leitmotif of the collection, very much in tune with today's France. A post-Olympic yearning for fitness and physical form.

It is presented in an elongated tent inside the garden of the Rodin Museum, with a central space enclosed by glass, where SAGG Napoli fired arrows with a high-tech bow throughout the show, several of which hit their mark. Its entrance, a door marked with the bold text: “May the building of a strong mind and a strong body be the greatest work I have ever done.”

Ultimately, though, in the weeks before a woman is elected to the most important job on our planet, a statement about female empowerment, worn by a few Brat girls on their way to the gym, is a statement that is often used as a way to express female empowerment.

The opening was made with leotards and swimsuits, anchored by a fantastic new hybrid gladiator sneaker; black trench coats with warrior-style necklines with straps and buckles; little black bias-cut dresses cut shiny, though in knit, not silk. An all-black opening, with logos everywhere, often a little white Christian Dior on the hip or the house’s signature restless bee on the side.

Never before on a Dior runway has there been so much knitwear, from super-skinny cardigans to technical knit trousers, as the pair Dior womenswear designer Maria Grazia Chiuri wore in a preview of the show.

At times, the style was so sporty and chic that it could have been from the Y-3 collection, albeit cut much more to fit the woman's body. Maria Grazia even developed a multi-line trim that morphed into the word Dior, thereby avoiding any potential lawsuits. And she finished mid-length skirts with checkered flags.

Sport in many disciplines, from mountaineering, boxing shorts, gymnastics leotards to elegant judo suits and all-white biker jackets, seen on rugged leather bomber jackets with logos on the sleeves. A graphic and optical collection with plenty of dynamism.

Although deceptively simple at times, the collection is sure to be highly influential, given so many women's desire to look sporty and stylish.

All of this is accompanied by a soundtrack composed almost exclusively of women (Charli XCX and Billie Eilish; Four Tet and Ellie Goulding and DJ Gigola), courtesy of French sound maestro Michel Gaubert. Before finishing with Greek goddess dresses, all in golden tones.

Drawing on the house's archive, Maria Grazia inspired Marc Bohan by mixing sporty and technical fabrics in a Dior Sport collection from the 1960s.

“I think fashion should respect and take into account these changes in the way women dress. That’s why this is a very urban collection, where the Bar jacket is made as a technical expression rather than a couture statement. We even paired a Bar jacket made of knitwear with trousers,” explained Chiuri, dressed in a look from the collection.

Although he also played with Monsieur's ideas, specifically revamping a famous Amazone dress from 1952, he created My Christian, with a new technological twist.

His other bold bet was sports bags and shoes.

“Accessories are always considered accessories, but for me they are a fundamental part of the silhouette. That is why we have worked hard to create a Lady Dior crossbody model, while shoes become urban or sports shoes and sports shoes become high heels,” she explains.

In the finale, Chiuri said goodbye to SAGG Napoli, a multidisciplinary artist whose work combines performances, sculptures, Instagram posts praising the Bay of Naples and even advertisements. She had previously worked with Jean-Paul Gaultier.

“And the artist embodies in himself the struggle to express his ideas,” concludes Maria Grazia, capturing in words the vitality of SAGG Napoli’s creation.

And this ode to the seductive power of the gentle south of Europe, not Paris on a rainy day, and an evocation of feminine strength and fierceness. Light years away from classic Dior, perhaps, but for that reason it is an even more powerful fashion statement.