Cover Dior spring-summer 2025. Photo: Sarah Jones
Dior spring-summer 2025. Photo: Sarah Jones
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Creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri channels Amazonian strength and Dior’s sportswear heritage in a powerful collection and the iconic new D-Journey bag
Since taking the helm at Dior, Maria Grazia Chiuri has consistently sought to bridge the worlds of fashion and feminism, transforming runway shows into platforms for showcasing female strength and empowerment. As the maison’s first female creative director, Chiuri approaches her role from such a lens, whether through feminist slogans on T-shirts, collaborations with female artists for the Lady Dior Art Project, or partnerships with women artisans. Building on her championing spirit, Chiuri’s vision for the spring-summer 2025 collection is a rich portrayal of contemporary femininity and strength. By celebrating a multitude of perspectives, from athleticism to sensuality, from inner resilience to outward power, she offers a nuanced portrayal of what it means to be a strong woman today.
Fresh off the excitement of last year’s Paris Olympics, she brought this idea to life with a dramatic spectacle that began with whizzing arrows as models walked the runway. Staged at the Musée Rodin in Paris, the runway was transformed into a 70-m metal- and-glass archery range. Italian artist and archer Sagg Napoli, the pseudonym of Sofia Ginevra Giannì, was behind the installation, which set the tone for an electrifying opening performance.
Clad in a one-shoulder bodysuit and a gladiator-style skirt, Sagg Napoli personified fierce athleticism as she fired arrows at targets, drawing attention to the emblematic texts splashed across the set. One such phrase, “May the building of a strong mind and a strong body be the greatest work I have ever made,” encapsulated the show’s overarching theme of empowerment and harmony between mind and boThe fashion world’s musical chairs: Who’s in and who’s out at major luxury brands
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Above One-shoulder necklines dominate the collection as an homage to the Amazon. Photo: Lara Giliberto
One-shoulder necklines dominate the collection as an homage to the Amazon. Photo: Lara Giliberto
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At its core, the collection celebrates audacious, unapologetic femininity. Drawing inspiration from the mythos of the Amazons— legendary warriors renowned for their fearlessness and skill as horse riders—Chiuri reimagines traditional battle attire with a modern twist. Leather harnesses appear as belts cinched across the waist and body, while buckled accents add structure to jackets. Asymmetrical draping, once designed for freedom of movement, is transformed into sleek, contemporary silhouettes. One-shoulder designs, including draped dresses, sparkling leotards, and bodysuits paired with baggy trousers or wrap sequin fringe skirts, offer wearable reinterpretations of Amazonian strength and grace.
The creative director also draws on gladiator influences with bold, modern iterations of the pteruges— multilayered leather defensive skirts worn by Roman and Greek soldiers—while knee-high leather gladiator sandals add to the wearer’s commanding presence. These elements, paired with crossbody bags slung across the shoulder like medieval arrow quivers, form a wardrobe fit for an unstoppable woman—as if the runway itself was a bridge from couture to combat.
Above Cutouts are a key feature in Dior’s spring- summer 2025 collection to signify freedom in motion. Photo: Lara Giliberto
Above Reimagined as a linear pattern and elongated into go-faster stripes, the foulard motif appears on multiple clothing items. Photo: Lara Giliberto
Cutouts are a key feature in Dior’s spring- summer 2025 collection to signify freedom in motion. Photo: Lara Giliberto
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Dior’s longstanding dedication to strength and movement is deeply embedded in its heritage, as reflected in the maison’s archives, which reveal a continuous dialogue between sportswear and couture. This legacy traces back to founder Christian Dior himself, who designed luxury ski fashion and equestrian-inspired pieces. One of the collection’s central muses, the Amazone—a black wool dress from the 1951 autumn-winter haute couture collection—illustrates Monsieur Dior’s affinity for the equestrian world and commitment to creating garments suitable for sidesaddle riding. For spring- summer 2025, this iconic dress is reinterpreted through distinct design cues, such as a bow-across- the-torso motif and athletic lines that echo the collection’s themes.
Chiuri also looked to the era of Marc Bohan, Dior’s longest-serving creative director, who introduced casual sportswear to the house by launching Dior Sport in 1962. In the current collection, those archival pieces are reborn as waterproof parkas and jackets, some of which feature a reinterpretation of a foulard print from the early 1970s. Reimagined as a linear pattern and elongated into go-faster stripes, the foulard motif appears on leather trousers, biker jackets, and over-the-knee leather flip-flops.
Sporting references extend further with checkerboard patterns, boxing boots, and motocross-inspired elements like moto jackets and skirts. Performance touches are present too, through ripstop pants and overalls.
Above The maison looked to its archival designs for the collection. Photo: Lara Giliberto
The maison looked to its archival designs for the collection. Photo: Lara Giliberto
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One of the collection’s standout looks is a belted off-the-shoulder dress inspired by a 1949 photograph by German photographer Willy Maywald, as highlighted in another of Chiuri’s Instagram posts. The image depicts model Alla de Dulmen in a look from Christian Dior’s Milieu du Siècle line. This season’s modern interpretation, styled with long black gloves, echoes the maison’s classic tailoring codes while embracing the contemporary Amazon biker theme.
Variations of the Bar Jacket— typically formal and fitted—are relaxed, paired with baggier trousers, presented as a one- shoulder silhouette, or reworked in a knit fabric. Elsewhere in the collection, white pieces, such as deconstructed shirts, are juxtaposed with black skirts, trousers, and dresses, creating an interplay of dualities that convey character. Bright red bomber jackets add vibrancy to the collection’s palette and inject an assertive energy, while shimmering metallic embroidery offers luminous contrast.
Jersey fabrics bring ease to lightweight evening dresses, sports shirts, and subtly embellished everyday pieces. These elements harmonise to celebrate the power of femininity in all its forms, reaffirming that strength is as much about self-expression.
Above The D-Journey is also available in canvas variations. Photo: Estelle Hanania
The D-Journey is also available in canvas variations. Photo: Estelle Hanania
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This philosophy of empowerment and versatility extends to the accessories, with the D-Journey bag unveiled as a centrepiece of the spring-summer 2025 collection. Designed to complement the body in motion, the bag symbolises Chiuri’s vision of contemporary femininity: dynamic, adaptable, and effortlessly chic. Its enlarged, supple volume conveys an athletic allure, while long, fluid lines, and an unstructured design echo the collection’s balance of strength and elegance.
The D-Journey, available in small, medium and large, is more than just a stylish companion; it fits right in with the way modern women navigate their lives by balancing practicality, style, and the freedom to move. Its spacious central compartment, secured by a sleek gold zip, ensures it is as functional as it is refined— ideal for everything from daily errands to spontaneous adventures. With its removable strap, adorned with the iconic “CD” initials, the bag transforms effortlessly, from a crossbody to a classic shoulder.
Above The D-Journey bag is available in three sizes and in full leather. Photo: Estelle Hanania
Above The D-Journey bag is available in three sizes and in full leather. Photo: Estelle Hanania
The D-Journey bag is available in three sizes and in full leather. Photo: Estelle Hanania
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Each bag is a masterpiece of craftsmanship, brought to life by Dior’s studio and ateliers. The artisans follow a meticulous process, from pattern-drafting to assembly, stitching each seam with infinite precision and shaping the material through a series of rigorous, practised gestures. To complete the design, delicate gold finishes and the affixed “Christian Dior Paris” seal, which hangs from the side of its body, serve as signatures of authenticity and unparalleled excellence.
The D-Journey also captures Dior’s commitment to its heritage. Its full leather variations evoke timeless luxury, while the maison’s iconic cannage motif in smooth, crinkled or grained leather adds a tactile connection to the its storied past. These versions come in a palette of classic hues, including white, brown and black, ensuring their adaptability across wardrobes and occasions.
For those seeking louder statements, the D-Journey is also available in canvas variations featuring the emblematic Dior Oblique Jacquard or the season’s Dior Graphic motif. The latter, with its striking white lettering, offers a bold and contemporary reinterpretation of the maison’s storied design codes.
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Nafeesa Saini is the Features Editor at Tatler Singapore, where she shapes long-form stories on culture, business, philanthropy, wellness, and the people driving change in Asia. With a deep interest in storytelling that intersects meaningfully with identity and impact, she has profiled a diverse range of visionaries, from scientific pioneers in AI and health to creative trailblazers and literary minds.
Nafeesa’s writing includes cover stories and profiles that spotlight influential voices, alongside commentary on the trends reshaping our world.
Off the clock, Nafeesa unwinds with fiction, a good thrift hunt, and ‘brainrot’ TikTok scroll—while always keeping one eye on her next cultural getaway, usually to Indonesia.
