Theatrical ready-to-wear for inspired Dior Autumn Winter 2025-2026 collection 

Fashion as a vector of transformation defines the new ready-to-wear collection by Maria Grazia Chiuri, Creative Director for Dior women’s collections.

Her dialogue between Dior’s heritage and the history of fashion summons references to Virginia Woolf’s novel Orlando, with theatrical staging by Robert Wilson.  

An invitation to use fashion to be oneself, the Autumn-Winter 2025-2026 collection offers a repertoire of possibilities. From fiery landscapes to glacial blue icebergs, Robert Wilson’s visual dramaturgy symbolized a world of metamorphosis, channeling the character of Orlando. At the heart of the collection is the white shirt, conversing with forms conceived by Gianfranco Ferré, “the architect of fashion” and creative director of Dior from 1989 to 1996. This founding element frees the outfit from gender stereotypes as Maria Grazia Chiuri emphasizes a certain fluidity. The concept is reprised in frilly removable collars, an evolution of the Orlando ruff and an accessory that transcends eras against the backdrop of a musical leitmotif, “Once Upon a Time”. These temporal interplays are embodied in iterations of the J’adore Dior t-shirt signed John Galliano, creative head of Dior from 1996 to 2011, revisited with floral embroidery.  

From backstage to runway, from dark to light, the collection is dominated by black and white. Subtle transparency is heightened in hyper-structured coats. Masculine jackets are combined with bustiers and the tailcoat is back, creating elongated silhouettes, while crinolines highlight the waist. Velvet and shiny effects dialogue with leather and shearling. Lace flows into twirling ribbons. Raincoats morph into capes for the final act amidst a cloud of smoke, blurring the borders between fiction and reality for the space of an enthralling show.