Théâtre de la Mode was a combination of marketing exercise and fantasy factory cooked up by Paris haute couture in 1945 Dior
Thus Théâtre de la Mode was conceived: a collection of 237 miniature dolls, dressed in the latest Parisian styles by 53 leading couture houses and posed in elaborate sets devised by artists including Christian Bérard and Jean Cocteau. It was a superlative piece of propaganda: think other people can do fashion? Paris does it better.
Creatively, Théâtre de la Mode was also a reflection of the straightened circumstances of wartime: scraps of fabric fashioned into miniature outfits, when material was in scarce supply to create their real-life counterparts., artistic director of Dior’s womenswear, didn’t have fabric rationing to contend with: but she did have to contend with time, and the physical restrictions of the pandemic and resulting lockdown.
Here’s a reality-check: Chiuri wasn’t telling us this in person, as she normally would, but was speaking via the new normal of Zoom, from Dior’s studio in Paris. It was three days before her collection would debut to the world, via a film of life-sized clothes and photographs of these miniature pieces. A masked assistant showed mood boards of inspiration images behind the clothes, which included the Surrealist artists Lee Miller,and Jacqueline Lamba.
If these miniature outfits are also an interesting and pertinent reflection of the circumstances of the world today, the accompanying digital film, created with Matteo Garrone, unfortunately seemed out of touch. It is titled, but it was its universally white cast that seemed antiquated.
That also has a grounding in history: the miniature mannequins not only directly recall Théâtre de la Mode, but also dolls dubbed Pandoras, sent around different cities to illustrate the fashions from Paris before the widespread dissemination of fashion magazines. In the 18th century, these were even sent bearing the likeness of Marie Antoinette – again, asserting the preeminence of Paris as a centre of fashion excellence, and of taste.
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