Choose Your Fighter / High Waist vs. Low Waist: My Thoughts on Christian Dior & Chanel Offering

1. After last year’s debuts of Jonathan Anderson at Dior and Matthieu Blazy at Chanel, one noticeable tendency has emerged.

2. What appears fresh on the Dior runway is often technically underdeveloped. Construction feels unfinished, and the essence of Dior — its silhouette — gets lost.

3. Take the dress worn by Mia Goth at Oscars after-party. The idea is strong and executed better than many similar silhouettes from the latest show — yet the lining is visible when it shouldn’t be.

4. Matthieu Blazy at Chanel experiments with proportions. Many looks feature oversized tailoring executed from unisex patterns — pieces Jacob Elordi or Harry Styles could wear comfortably.

5. What are these universal models about? As I wrote earlier, the brand seems to be carefully teasing its plans regarding menswear.

6. This approach also reflects production standardization, cost reduction, and an attempt to broaden the audience. I view it as a step back from what is considered to be a true luxury:

The difference between luxury and mass market often lies in fit — brands like Massimo Dutti or COS rarely design garments that are truly body-shaped.

7. Who is winning at retail? I’m not taking into account the numerous photos and videos of queues outside Chanel — in many ways this is the result of strong PR.

8. The winner is still Chanel.

9. Not long ago I wrote that Dior’s first drop was poorly thought out and failed to accumulate interest.

10. Having missed the peak of attention, more fashion-forward RTW pieces are now appearing — yet almost nothing from the runway has reached boutiques, or it appears in a simplified form. I even began thinking about how the situation could be improved — controlled trunk shows, pre-orders — but that is a topic for another note.

11. Dior also failed to build momentum through an important cash category — bags. And the interesting shoes simply have nothing to be paired with in the boutique.

12. Chanel, on the other hand, is ahead on all fronts: runway RTW is in boutiques, there are many new bag models and different footwear. Together this creates an ecosystem of novelty actively amplified by PR.

13. I tried on many pieces from Loewe and Bottega Veneta. The former often felt unresolved, the latter somewhat rigid. Their focus, however, lies in craft and details. At Dior the key element is silhouette; at Chanel it is ease of movement expressed through femininity. Yet craft and detailing remain central.

14. As for what I choose — the high waist from Dior or the low waist from Chanel — I choose a third option: the one flattering to the body, with controlled volume and proportions.

*Both brands could have played with their versions in a flattering way with just a few adjustments. It’s not even about taste, which is rather subjective, but about more approachable form.