Dior hits bullseye with archery display to open Paris fashion week

Archery has had a hot girl summer. After a glamorous turn at the Paris Olympics under the grand gold dome of Les Invalides, the ancient sport was the star as Dior opened Paris fashion week.

The show began with Sagg Napoli, a 33-year-old Italian performance artist and competitive archer, striding the long catwalk carrying her bow. Instead of a handbag, she carried arrows in a quiver slung over one shoulder.

When she reached the end, she limbered up her shoulders, bounced on her toes, and then – enclosed, for safety, in a transparent corridor running the length of the catwalk – spent the show shooting arrows that zipped past the models on either side.

The Olympics was a win for the city of Paris. And since Paris and fashion go hand in hand, Dior, most illustrious of the French luxury houses, is determined to bask in the afterglow. Brigitte Macron attended the show with Dior’s CEO, Delphine Arnault, and the queen of Norway, Sonja Haraldsen.

A Dior Sport logo from the 1960s – last seen on ski-wear worn by Jackie Kennedy Onassis – was revived as a motif for a youthful, sport-focused season. Tracksuit pants with go-faster stripes were worn with stretchy tank tops. Sporty, stretchy boots were calf-high, mirroring the gen Z love of a pulled-up sock.

Backstage before the show, designer Maria Grazia Chiuri said she was drawn to the stretched gestures and powerful action of archery because she is interested in how to adapt the style language of Dior – invented in the 1940s and 1950s for a clientele who seldom broke into a jog – for modern women who live active lives. “The rise of sport has changed the whole body language of women, and therefore of fashion,” she said.

On Chiuri’s mood board was an ancient Roman statue of Diana, the goddess of hunting, reaching over her shoulder for an arrow. Also, an image of Wonder Woman. “She is a modern Amazon,” said Chiuri. “I always liked how her corset is a shield, protecting her.” On the catwalk the Lady Dior handbag came with a new cross-body strap, for ease of movement.

Dior was followed by a Paris debut for the sustainability-focused Copenhagen brand Ganni. The step up to fashion’s global capital reflects the rising profile of Scandinavian fashion – and the brand’s ambitions for growth.

The theme of their show was witches, with a smoke-filled cauldron at the centre of the runway. But this was not about “pointy hats”, said designer Ditte Reffstrup, but rather to spotlight responsible fashion.

“Witches were a community, a sisterhood where they stood up for what they believed in, working with nature and not being afraid of risking their life for it,” Reffstrup told WWD.

The cauldron symbolised the alchemy of new fabrics, which here included Celium, a leather alternative made from mango and pineapple fruit waste, and sneakers made from fabric offcuts. Ganni’s greenhouse gas emissions dropped 7% in 2023, despite the company growing an average of 18% over the past three years.

Despite the move to Paris, Ganni kept it casual. There were American football shirts – the new slogan T-shirts, thanks to the Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce effect – lots of denim, a cheerful riot of leopard print and flat shoes ideal for cycling around Copenhagen.