Numéro 219
Haute Couture Fall-Winter 2019
For her Haute Couture Fall-Winter 2019 show, Maria Grazia Chiuri chose to use the historic premises of the House of Dior one last time, before the renovation work took place. This collection placed the ideas of architecture, art and design at the heart of the preoccupations, which was particularly reflected in the first and last looks of the show.
“Are clothes modern?” The quote from the Austrian-born American architect, designer, and critic Bernard Rudofsky opened the show by questioning the idea of vernacular architecture rich in traditional savoir-faire.
The entire set of the show, commissioned by Maria Grazia Chiuri to the British artist Penny Slinger, was an ode to architecture.
Penny Slinger also wanted to pay tribute to the iconic address of 30 Avenue Montaigne.
This sculpture is based on the architecture of the hôtel particulier in which Christian Dior decided to set up his Haute Couture house in 1946.
“I knew exactly what I wanted – it was the house which I had described to Marcel Boussac – but I had no idea where to find it. Many years before my decisive interview with him, I had in fact stopped short in front of two small houses side by side in the avenue Montaigne – numbers 28 and 30. To my friend Pierre Colle, the art dealer, who was with me, I pointed out their neat, compact proportions, and air of sober elegance without the least hint of ostentation.”
This “fashion sculpture,” by questioning the form and function of the garment, closed the show and brought together the thoughts of Bernard Rudofsky, Penny Slinger and Maria Grazia Chiuri around a conceptual vision of Haute Couture as a form of art.
© Penny Slinger ; © Laziz Hamani ; © Morgan O'Donovan