For her SS24 Dior show, Maria Grazia Chiuri took inspiration from portrayals of rebellious women throughout history: Ingrid Bergman starring as Joan of Arc, and Simone Signoret playing Elisazabeth Proctor in The Crucible. ‘Women who resist and rebel’ says Bianca Jagger, CEO, human rights defender – and style icon. ‘If you know a little bit about me, it’s how I have lived my life,’ she says, from her hotel in Paris - the day after the show.
Jagger’s relationship with Grazia Chiuri is longstanding. ‘I have been a great admirer of Maria Grazia Chiuri ever since meeting her at her first Dior show in 2016. She had the courage to proclaim that we should all be feminists by sending models down the runway wearing T-shirts with that message.’
In 2014, Dior supported The Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation (BJHRF) gala, a fundraising event that honoured author and campaigner Jasvinder Sanghera for her vital role in speaking out about forced marriage and honour based violence, and Nancy Tomee of the Pokot tribe in Northern Kenya, for her stand against female genital mutilation (FGM).
This week, Bianca Jagger sandwiched the SS24 Dior show in between fittings, calls and a handful of meetings about political prisoners in Nicaragua. Her schedule–manifold and somewhat overflowing– led to her missing her return flight.
Sat front row at the SS24 Dior show was a powerful experience for Jagger. As Italian artist Elena Bellantoni’s images of sexist advertising throughout history flashed up on seven foot screens, she thought about the sexist lens through which her own story has been told.
‘People may view me as a fashion icon, but I am also a human rights defender. I have a long-standing body of work of more than 40 years, I set up a foundation in 2015, and I work tirelessly for the causes that I believe in.’
It’s the show’s political statement that really spoke to Jagger. In an effort to ‘deconstruct femininity’ models walked down the runway in looser silhouettes, a move away from the cinched waists that are so emblematic of Dior. ‘I was very impressed by the show. It was a rejection of a fashion industry dictating that women must conform to an hourglass image of perfection. I think in every possible way, Maria Grazia tries to liberate women. We don't have to look the same, we can have our own style. She uses a masculine jacket with very ethereal skirts, she mixes things up.’
Jagger herself wore a black flared mid-length dress in a textured Jacquard fabric.
‘I feel comfortable in her pieces’ she says, citing Dior jackets as becoming, ‘a uniform for me. I am someone who believes in style. I don't believe in fashion. I wear what I think looks good on me, my style is the same as it has always been. I have clothes from 40 years ago, fortunately, I can still wear a lot of them.’
Jagger’s work never stops. She is currently working with her foundation to free Dr Vilma Núñez de Escorcia, a lawyer and human rights activist under de facto house arrest and imprisoned Bishop Rolando Álvarez: both are political prisoners in her native Nicaragua. ‘I am speaking out against the British government and Rishi Sunak’s irresponsible climate change policies. I am campaigning for women in Afghanistan, for women in Iran.’ Jagger is also in talks with Grazia Chiuri about working with all-women artists for another fundraiser.
‘Maria Grazia is a champion of women's rights and I’m proud to be associated with her and Dior’, says Jagger. ‘She doesn't just talk about being a feminist. She has used her position to empower women.’
