The newspaper print dress worn by Sarah Jessica Parker in Sex & the City is enjoying a new fashion moment, after Alexandra Leclerc wore the design at the Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid.
Leclerc, an art historian who is expecting her first child with Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, paired the recognisable Dior dress with Dolce & Gabbana leather mules, Miu Miu sunglasses and a Lady Dior bag as she watched her husband compete.
The garment became synonymous with Carrie Bradshaw after appearing in one of the series’ most memorable scenes, in which Carrie confronted Mr Big’s wife, Natasha, to confess her affair.
Designed by John Galliano for Dior, the asymmetric, bias-cut silk dress features a newsprint motif. More than two decades after its television debut, it has continued to be revisited by high-profile wearers.
Jenna Ortega created her own Carrie Bradshaw moment at the premiere of Hurry Up Tomorrow last year, wearing the cowl-neck version with gold stiletto sandals and delicate jewellery.
At the US Open, Ines de Ramon also offered a variation on the look while attending the tournament alongside Brad Pitt. Her version had a sweetheart neckline and spaghetti straps, differing from Parker’s dress.
The print originated in Galliano’s controversial Spring 2000 Haute Couture collection for Dior. It incorporated press clippings from the International Herald Tribune, including reviews of some of the designer’s earlier collections.
Galliano’s collection, known as Hobo, drew inspiration partly from homeless people he encountered while jogging and from the Tramp Ball trend of the 1920s and 1930s, when wealthy society figures dressed as homeless people for lavish parties.
Models were sent down the runway in slashed dresses and distressed jackets accessorised with whisky bottles, kitchen utensils and other objects resembling items found on the street. Social welfare campaigners criticised the treatment of homelessness as fashion, and protests were held outside Dior’s Paris headquarters.
Ten days after the show, Galliano issued an official apology, saying: “I never wanted to make a spectacle of misery.” He later refined the concept for Dior’s autumn/winter ready-to-wear collection, creating a fictional newspaper called The Christian Dior Daily as the basis for a series of looks.
Among those designs was Look 34, the dress later worn by Parker as Carrie Bradshaw. Its continued appearances on television, red carpets and at major sporting events have established the newsprint design as a fashion icon in its own right.
