Paris Fashion Week Debuts Protection Gear for ‘A World at War’: ‘The Problem Is Patriarchal’

Paris Fashion Week 2022 continued Wednesday in the shadow of war in the Ukraine, with participants determined to insert themselves into the crisis engulfing global affairs by “subverting the patriarchy.”

They did this by adopting sombre tones matched with what a Dior designer called the combination of “beauty and protection” to help shield glum, unsmiling runway models from the predations and “failings of a male-dominated society.”

The collection was prepared long before the Russian military began bombarding Ukraine last week, AFP reports.

Even so, Dior’s models sported a range of protective gear — from shoulder pads to airbag corsets to tops that looked distinctly like bulletproof vests, the French news outlet outlined.

A model presents a creation with shoulder pads for the Christian Dior Fall-Winter 2022-2023 collection fashion show during the Paris Womenswear Fashion Week, in Paris, on March 1, 2022. (STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/AFP via Getty Images)

Models present creations for the Christian Dior Fall-Winter 2022-2023 collection fashion show during the Paris Womenswear Fashion Week, in Paris. (STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/AFP via Getty Images)

Even before the Russian invasion, “the world was already at war”, said Chiuri, Dior’s artistic director for women, ahead of the show.

“Covid was another form of war. We have all experienced some very difficult months,” she sighed. “There is a lot of reflection, in these difficult times, about how to combine beauty, aesthetics and protection.”

U.S. actress and model Anya Taylor Joy poses for a photocall for the Christian Dior Fall-Winter 2022-2023 collection fashion show during Paris Womenswear Fashion Week, in Paris. (JULIEN DE ROSA/AFP via Getty Images)

The 58-year-old Italian designer told AFP her latest creations were aimed at finding technical solutions that can be more functional for women’s bodies, although as a self-described committed feminist, Chiuri sees the current crisis in world affairs as further proof of “the failings of a male-dominated society.”

“The problem is cultural and patriarchal. There must be more women in decision-making positions. There would be fewer wars,” she said.

A model presents a sombre creation for the Saint-Laurent Fall-Winter 2022-2023 collection fashion show during the Paris Womenswear Fashion Week, in Paris, on March 1, 2022. (JULIEN DE ROSA/AFP via Getty Images)

The autumn-winter shows were supposed to mark Paris Fashion Week’s return to near-normal, with almost all labels back to holding public events as pandemic restrictions ease across Europe.

But the war in Ukraine has cast a pall on the celebrated event, with organisers issuing a statement on Monday urging all attendees to attend in a spirit of “solemnity… and in reflection of these dark hours.”

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