It has become customary for numerous fashion designers not only to draw inspiration from artists but also to engage in collaborations with them, integrating artworks into collections and enhancing the runway experience.
Maria Grazia Chiuri, consistently adhering to this approach at Dior, frequently incorporates installations into the maison's runway venues.
Indian Shakuntala Kulkarni (Irenebrination readers, do you remember her? We met her at the India Pavilion at the 58th Venice International Art Exhibition, in 2019) is the latest artist she chose for Dior's A/W 24 runway.
Kulkarni's armors took center stage at the Dior show, presented on Tuesday during Paris Fashion Week, while images of the artist wearing her pieces adorned the walls. Through her armors, Kulkarni explores the dichotomy between protection and entrapment, particularly concerning women's experiences in public and domestic spaces. Originally inspired by the alarming rates of violence against women in India, her intricate cane pieces intend to provide protection for the female body.
However, through her experimentation and subsequent wearing these armors in everyday situations in Mumbai, the artist realized they also symbolized a form of punishment and confinement. The armors, adorned with decorative elements and resembling Haute Couture dresses, celebrate indeed the female body while simultaneously restricting its movement.
Kulkarni's project serves therefore as a statement against patriarchal structures, addressing the violation of women's spaces and preserving her city's heritage against urban development that threatens to erase its cultural and historical significance.
These juxtapositions reflect the multifaceted nature of her project, tackling themes of power, vulnerability, and reclaiming space, offering a poignant commentary on the complexities of protection and entrapment.
Furthermore, Kulkarni's choice of cane as the primary material reflects a delicate balance between strength and vulnerability. Collaborating with craftsmen from a village in Assam, she bridges urban life with rural artisanal skills, advocating for indigenous crafts and fostering collaboration across socio-economic disparities.
Kulkarni's pieces set the mood for the presentation, but the actual collection didn’t reflect them.
Dior's A/W 24 collection drew indeed inspiration from Marc Bohan, who introduced the brand's first ready-to-wear line - Miss Dior - in 1967. The designs echoed the late '60s and '70s, evoking Bohan's tenure at Dior and Yves Saint Laurent's Rive Gauche, with touches of Prada and hints at the costumes of Monica Vitti in Miklós Jancsó's "La pacifista" (1970).
All the designs reflected the wardrobe of independent women in career roles traditionally occupied by men. The belted trenchcoats and the pantsuits, at times accessorized with wide-brimmed hats seemed to point at the style of Italian interior design Gabriella Crespi (View this photo), another inspiration for this show. In the '60s the French maison showed an interest in Crespi’s work and the interior designer created a series of homeware pieces for Dior, becoming a friend of Marc Bohan.
Crespi often used natural materials in her pieces, including cane and bamboo (think about her "Rising Sun" series, View this photo), something that created a link with Kulkarni's works (another link with the Indian artist is hidden in Crespi's biography - when she was in her sixties, the designer left Italy and moved to an ashram in Uttar Pradesh, at the foot of the Himalayas, where she lived for 20 years), but that also seemed a link with the main palette for the show, comprising neutral tones, with mocha and cappuccino shades prevailing.
The coats and wrap skirts often featured a graffiti-like motif spelling "Miss Dior" in hand-written graphics, reminiscent of large Stephen Sprouse-like letters.
While some may have interpreted this as an attempt to inject a punk aesthetic into the collection, the slogan-like logo was actually drawn from the company's archive, specifically from a blow-up Miss Dior logo found on a vintage scarf.
Fashion historians or graphic designers specialized in fashion might recognize the slogan-like logo as the evolution of the angular one created by René Gruau for Miss Dior adverts in the late '60s.
Therefore, the inclusion of these "manifesto" trench coats and skirts wasn't so much a form of protest but rather a nod to the graphic design history of the maison (Gruau's graphic logo was also used as a decorative motif on Miss Dior garments between the end of the '60s and the beginning of the '70s, so this is definitely not a new idea View this photo).
Additionally, the check skirt suits and outerwear designs seemed to draw inspiration from Superstudio's "Quaderna" interior design pieces (View this photo).
Various iterations were introduced, including denim and tweeds (although reminiscent of Chanel), as well as leopard prints, evoking Dior's muse, Mitzah Bricard, who used to wear leopard skin accessories (mind you, there was also a Miss Dior leopard advert by Gruau that was inspired by Mitzah Bricard, so the advert and Bricard may have actually inspired the designs… View this photo).
Dynamic silhouettes were favoured in an attempt at moving away from the Bar jacket and include more functional and practical designs such as mini-skirts, wrap skirts, and flapper dresses with fringes that started higher up, almost around the waist to guarantee more movement to the wearer, reflecting a rebellious spirit.
Jewelry was a missed opportunity instead as it may have featured more nods to Crespi's interior design pieces, but was instead reduced to unassuming designs with gold pendants.
Other references to Bohan's logo were scattered in the details: Miss Dior logo-buckles adorned the shoes, while embroidered logos graced black stocking seams, echoing Bohan's pioneering approach to accessories.
Kulkarni's presence could have been further emphasized, with cane potentially incorporated into accessories and bags, but this wasn't the primary issue.
Rather, the complexity of her message concerning protection, empowerment, and entrapment sometimes felt stifled by the runway presentation, as if these vital themes were overshadowed by more commercially driven designs like the slogan print.
Kulkarni's nine cane armors appeared therefore to be relegated to mere props, missing an opportunity for deeper integration.
This underscores an important lesson for fashion designers (and, obviously, fashion students as well...): when incorporating an artist into an event, it's crucial to strike a balance between the artist's message and the inspiration behind the collection. Otherwise, one risks overshadowing the other, as seen in this instance where Kulkarni's significance seemed to fade into the background.
Comments