Dior Haute Couture AW2019 drew inspiration from Rudofsky and Greek caryatids, making for a distinctive, predominantly black haute couture collection.

&quot;Are clothes modern?&quot; &nbsp;

Back in 1947, Rudofsky questioned the functionality of clothing, feeling&nbsp;that many clothing designs were impractical and even&nbsp;harmful. His thoughts inspired creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri&#39;s new vision for&nbsp;haute couture, which she defines as an art that is destined to dress bodies that are unique and have a singular identity.&nbsp;

Hence, Chiuri looks at architecture and couture in&nbsp;this collection, also drawing&nbsp;inspiration from Greek caryatids - resulting in a striking, almost all-black collection.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Here are the highlights from the show:

&nbsp;

Scenography

The collection was shown&nbsp;in Dior&#39;s Paris headquarters - Dior&#39;s h&ocirc;tel particulier, an iconic location that Christian Dior used to present all his collections in the past. The scenography of the place was done&nbsp;by feminist surrealist artist Penny Slinger, who took inspiration from air, water and fire in hostile nature to make a stunning black and white set. Scroll through the gallery to check out various parts of the set, such as&nbsp;the tree of life, photographs containing the seven&nbsp;elements, and more.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Looks

The predominantly black&nbsp;collection goes back to the very basics of haute couture, with a&nbsp;focus&nbsp;on architecture, opening with a white dress bearing the famed question: &quot;Are clothes modern?&quot;.&nbsp;

The show progressed on with mainly black pieces, purposefully eliminating colour to focus on the texture, details&nbsp;and silhouette&nbsp;of the designs. The use of black is also a nod&nbsp;to Christian Dior&#39;s quote in his Little Dictionary of Fashion: &quot;I could write a book about black&quot;.&nbsp;

Peplums and peplos, worn in ancient Greece,&nbsp;were a source of inspiration for the collection, as with the&nbsp;Greek caryatids - female structures&nbsp;that held up and supported ancient structures like temples and Parisian edifices - a symbol of&nbsp;where women stand in society.&nbsp;

The show&nbsp;closed with a unique final outfit which&nbsp;caught the attention of many -&nbsp;a model of Dior&#39;s h&ocirc;tel particulier, which literally emphasises the&nbsp;collection&#39;s focus on architecture.&nbsp;

Swipe through the gallery&nbsp;to have a look at some of the&nbsp;key outfits of the show,&nbsp;and check out some of the collection&#39;s details below.

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Dior Brings It Back To Black With Its AW19 Haute Couture Show

L'OFFICIEL SINGAPORE — Dec 2025-Jan 2026

Dior Brings It Back To Black With Its AW19 Haute Couture Show

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