Dior, Misogyny, and the Death of Luxury Magic

13 Aug

Conglomerates have killed the magic of luxury fashion - why I’m no longer supporting Dior (and you shouldn’t either).

I’ll never forget my first experience walking into the Dior store on New Bond Street at 16. The air was scented with roses, and there was this undeniable, palpable sense of luxury and soft, feminine glamour. The shelves were lined with beautifully crafted items far out of my price range, yet I was still greeted by warm, smiling sales assistants. I was immediately drawn to the brand for its rich heritage, its love for women, femininity, and all things girly.

A fan favourite for Sofia Coppola stans and coquette Pinterest girlies alike, Dior is a brand steeped in history and exudes femininity and elegance. It’s no wonder that when I started my first TikTok account years later, I called it dreamingofdior.

Men ruin everything.

Earlier this month, while embarking on my customary Saturday ritual of iced matcha and window shopping in Selfridges, I passed a sleek Central London art gallery with a huge portrait of Johnny Depp in the window. The image immediately caused a pit of disgust to form in my stomach, and stirred a sense of anger so strong that even I, being a typically non-confrontational person, almost walked into the gallery to tell them how despicable this was.

The 2022 media circus that was the Depp vs Herd trial was one of the most disturbing things I’ve had the displeasure of witnessing in real time. I felt gaslit by the entirety of the internet and society who seemed to be on Depp’s side at the time, despite to my eyes the very damning obvious evidence that he was in fact guilty. An acquaintance I got dinner with exclaimed that she was on Depp’s side as she ‘’couldn’t stand,’’ Amber. A university classmate spoke unchallenged about how the abuse claims were ‘’nonsense,’’ as TikTokers and Depp fangirls alike took to social media to spew misogynistic hate towards Amber Heard.

Seeing how joyous people were to have an ‘’acceptable’’ target for their misogynistic hate campaigns, I look back at that time as the moment I was radicalised towards feminism. In so many ways, Amber Heard should have been the media’s ‘’perfect’’ victim - white, attractive, rich, with ample evidence to support her case. If she was mocked and hated with ferocity when she dared to speak out against a man, what hope do us regular women have?

For anyone not aware, despite winning the 2022 trial, in 2020 Johnny Depp took The Sun to court for libel after they published an article calling him a wifebeater. Judge Mr Justice Nicol said The Sun had proved what was in the article to be "substantially true" and found 12 of the 14 alleged incidents of domestic violence had occurred.

Despite this, as any feminist with an internet connection knows - cancel culture doesn’t exist if you’re a man. Depp still retains his place as a beloved celebrity in many spheres. It’s recently been rumoured he’s returning as Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean 6, he still has an entourage of women fangirling over him, boutique art galleries giving him full frontal window displays and brands like Dior having him as the face of their campaigns.

Yes that’s right - despite Depp being found guilty by UK courts of abusing his ex-wife, Dior continue to stand by him as the face of Sauvage, and in 2023 extended his contract in a three-year deal worth upwards of $20 million, marking the biggest men’s fragrance pact ever, according to Variety.

The hypocrisy of this coming from a brand like Dior is stark. In 2017, Maria Grazia Chiuri’s debut collection as the brand’s creative director featured a linen and white cotton jersey with the headline-making slogan ‘’We Should All Be Feminists.’’ The essence of the brand itself, since its debut New Look collection in 1947, has been synonymous with femininity and romance. Christian Dior loved women - he started Dior with a dream: to make women happier and more beautiful. Now owned by conglomerate LVMH, I believe he would have hated what the brand has become today.

So yes, as a former self-proclaimed Dior fangirl (who once travelled to Paris just for a Dior exhibition, has an extensive collection of Dior packaging and even has a Dior poster above her bed), while my love for the heritage of the brand has not died, I can no longer continue to support modern Dior in good conscience. I believe this follows a wider trend of the magic of luxury fashion dying for many consumers, with recent viral TikToks from Chinese factories exposing how these products are really made, whilst conglomerates like LVMH continue to put profit before ethics and heritage.

To fill the void that Dior has left in my life, I will be shopping vintage and searching for unique, women owned smaller brands that fill my craving for dreamy, feminine and feminist fashion.

Oh, and my username has changed… to dreamingamira, marking the start of a new era. There is so much ahead, for myself and on here at girlie-world.com, where we champion both femininity and feminism.