The National Times - Dior's arrows and Amazons as Saint Laurent revives its master

Not for the first time, Italian designer Maria Grazia Chiuri dipped into her feminist quiver to deliver modern, technological looks for strong women taking on the world.

Almost entirely in black and white, her spring-summer collection was inspired by the Amazon dress created by the fabled French brand's founder, Christian Dior, in 1951.

To hammer the mythological point home, Chiuri had the London-based Neapolitan artist SAGG Napoli -- an archer -- fire off arrow after arrow at a target in the middle of the runway as her models marched steelily down either side.

A plexiglass screen ensured no one was skewered but still the heartbeat quickened, helped on by thundering Italian techno.

Chiuri, who loves to use stirring quotes on her creations, cited her fellow Italian after a summer of Olympic and Paralympic triumphs in the French capital: "May the building of a strong mind and a strong body be the greatest work I have ever made."

As for the clothes, asymmetry was almost the rule with one shoulder bare on many dresses, blouses and tops -- all very early 2000s, leaning into younger clients' love of the look.

- Flats and straps -

The sportswear -- heavy on bomber jackets and parachute trousers -- dripped with elaborate zips and straps, with Chiuri stretching out the omnipresent "Miss Dior" logo to its extremes on the clothes until it almost seemed to become a series of abstract lines.

Chiuri said she had tried to show the work put into "each garment so that each piece almost tells you how it was constructed".

A few evening dresses in veiled pearl and skin hues also harked back to the Amazons, the matriarchal tribe of women warriors from Greek mythology.

Such powerful women have no need of stilettos, with Chiuri instead opting for supple flat Hoplite thigh-high boots, or laced up boxing ones -- although the odd kitten heel did slip through.

Dior was a major player at the Paris Games, dressing Celine Dion, Lady Gaga and Aya Nakamura for their star turns in the opening ceremony show.

Clearly, Chiuri wanted to prolong that Olympic afterglow by bringing in SAGG Napoli and her bow, even if the archer-artist is usually an unashamed devotee of very unDior maximalist southern European bling.

- Yves Saint Laurent lives -

In the day's other big show at Saint Laurent, Anthony Vaccarello turned the clock back to the early 1980s -- shoulder pads and all -- by summoning the ghost of the brand's founder, Yves Saint Laurent himself.

Bella Hadid led a battalion of female models dressed as the designer -- trademark specs, double breasted suits, trenchcoats -- parading in oversized variations of his classic male cuts from way back in the day.

Saint Laurent was the man who changed women's fashion forever in 1966 by putting women in his black men's "smoking" tuxedo jackets, and Vaccarello seemed to be trying to repeat the trick through an 80s timewarp.

For a designer who often takes delight in showing as much flesh as possible, this was a decidedly demure collection of long trailing coats, silk brocade jackets, and aristo ruffs and cuffs. Our old 80s friends, the leather and suede bomber jackets, made an appearance too, all cut with a run of interesting miniskirts with contrasting underskirts.

It all seemed to be lapped up by a hugely glamorous -- and fur-festooned -- front row that included Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Moss, K pop stars Rose of Blackpink and singer Cha Eun-woo, Lenny Kravitz, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Carla Bruni.

M.Davis--TNT