PARIS — Christian Dior kicked off Paris Fashion Week in earnest last Tuesday with a socially distanced runway show as models paraded around an art installation recalling Gothic-style stained-glass windows to a live choir performance.

Fashion brands are hesitantly returning to the catwalk after holding off for many months due to the coronavirus pandemic. Paris’ fashion week, which runs until Oct. 6, will include a mix of physical and digital events.

At Dior, guests wore face masks and were given temperature checks, with crowds limited to 300 rather than the 800 to 1,000 the label, owned by LVMH, would normally invite.

The COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) crisis also influenced the collection, womenswear designer Maria Grazia Chiuri said, including with the looser, flowing lines of some outfits meant to “support us, to feel better.”

The label’s normally structured and cinched classic Bar jackets got a softer makeover, while some looks came with a Japanese twist, including kimono-like spring coats, in an array of paisley prints, tie-dye stripes or floral patterns.

The styles contained nods to female figures or writers, including a couple of long, buttoned up white shirts, a style Susan Sontag has been pictured in.

“This social distance in some way doesn’t help us to have a dialogue with the other,” Ms. Chiuri said in an interview. “So probably it’s also for that that I want this dialogue with other women, I don’t want to close myself in a room, to stay alone.”

A mix of materials, including Indonesian ikat fabrics, also echoed the “collage” theme, as did the illuminated windows of the decor by Italian artist Lucia Marcucci, containing a patchwork of photos and newspaper clippings.

Some celebrities welcomed the low key nature of the show.

“I actually feel this new environment that we’ve created with more space and more respect for one another – I actually think that it’s a much more pleasant way of viewing the shows, and consuming art,” said Games of Thrones actress Maisie Williams.

EXTINCTION REBELLION PROTESTER
Not everything went as planned though.

A woman holding a banner reading “We are all fashion victims” infiltrated the catwalk at Christian Dior’s show — walking the runway so calmly that it appeared at first to be part of the event.

The protester was acting in the name of Extinction Rebellion, an activist movement that aims to highlight the risks posed by climate change. The act was meant to denounce “the impact of the fashion industry on the environment and society,” a spokesman for the movement in France said.

Strolling past guests including the billionaire boss of Dior parent LVMH Bernard Arnault in the front row, the woman walked towards photographers after models had exited the runway.

She left the scene without anyone challenging her and leaving some people confused over whether it was a stunt or part of the show.

Dior’s womenswear collections are designed by Maria Grazia Chiuri, who has often introduced logos into her collection as well as feminist statements on T-shirts and on set. Dior declined to comment further.

Extinction Rebellion, which has led protests at London’s Fashion Week since February 2019, started a campaign last week highlighting the waste generated by the industry. — Reuters

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