Dior celebrated Josephine Baker and the Roaring Twenties

From cabaret feathers to sophisticated suits and velvet robes, Dior celebrated Josephine Baker and the wild freedom of the Roaring Twenties with a celebrity-filled show to kick-start haute couture week in Paris on Monday.

A parade of stars including Anya Taylor-Joy, Kirsten Dunst, Rosamund Pike, and K-pop’s Jisoo line the front row to celebrate the American icon who made Paris her home and recently became the first woman of color. I saw Chiuru’s homage. The site of the Pantheon where the great men of France are buried.

“Baker was a great artist,” Maria Grazia Chiuri, singer, dancer, activist and member of the French resistance movement, and chief designer of women’s clothing at Dior, told AFP ahead of the show. …I used her clothes to establish myself and my status.”

Baker was Christian Dior’s own client and muse. Her athletic body and short hair give her a different femininity than the slim-waisted figure of his iconic “New His Look” with his famous 1930s Bar-Her jacket and Corolla-Her skirt. represents.

Baker came to Paris in 1925 to appear in the Revue Negret at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, and was expected to respond to the racial stereotypes of the time.

However, rapid success allowed her to radically change her appearance, becoming an icon of the Art Deco style and later embracing modern suits.

Chiuri’s collection pays tribute to each of her expressions, with feathers and silver fringes reminiscent of her cabaret days, sleek suits of later styles, and more masculine suits that evoke her swaying sexuality. expressed.

During World War II, Baker fled France after the Nazis (understandably) became suspicious that she was supporting the Resistance, but returned to Paris after liberation and donned her military uniform. Helped rebuilding efforts by wearing.

“Her image in uniform is extraordinary. She has an incredible awareness of how she can use her notoriety and how it can be used for other women.” I was there,” said Chiuri.

The collection is also inspired by actor Marlene Dietrich, one of Baker’s contemporary and another of Dior’s friends.

Together, they “represent a young woman who was way ahead of her time,” Chiuri said.

The Roaring Twenties was a “special historical moment”, she added. It was feminine and very glamorous at the same time.”