FASHION
Dior Redefines Luxury In The First In-Person Runway Show
Hanane Tabet
6-July-2021
On Monday July 5, the first day of Fall/Winter 2021-2022 Haute Couture Fashion Week was pure magic and a tribute to craftsmanship with the Dior show at the Rodin Museum.
After several seasons of restrictions and shows transformed into digital cinematographic experiences, this Haute Couture Dior fashion show is one of the first in-person runway show. For this return to reality, Maria Grazia Chiuri, artistic director of the women's collections, wanted to reclaim the values of haute couture. Her goal? Celebrate the power of the thread, evoke the senses and revive a tactile experience.
Art and Haute Couture celebrate the savoir-faire and the cultures of the world
Inspired by textile artist and curator Clare Hunter’s book “Threads of Life: A History of the World Through the Eye of the Needle,” Maria Grazia Chiuri, Dior's first female artistic director, wanted to reinterpret embroidery in this Fall/Winter 2021-2022 Couture show: it will not be just a decorative ornament, but it will turn into a tactile experience, connected to the senses of sight and touch. The flawless setting at the Rodin Museum was designed by French contemporary artist Eva Jospin, created by Chanakyua School of Craft, an Indian institution that supports women’s financial empowerment through traditional craftsmanship, and named the Silk Chamber. The audience, with Monica Bellucci, Cara Delevingne, Jennifer Lawrence, Jessica Chastain, Suki Waterhouse, and Florence Pugh as front row guests, were able to appreciate the detail and the nature of the fabric in a way that is not possible in digital shows. Fashion shows are officially back, Ladies! And we couldn’t be happier.
Let’s talk about the looks, shall we?
The entire collection redefines the fabric of luxury. It is about materials, weaving, embroidery, and know-how. The craftsmanship of artisans is expressed through looks that combine voluminous tweed coats in a patchwork of muted tones with long skirts embroidered with feathers. The waist is subtly highlighted with a belt on the front, while the garment is left loose at the back. The Dior woman is delicate, free, confident. Part of the collection seems designed for the red carpet with romantic hand-braided silk evening gowns. However, most of the silhouettes offer a Haute Couture craving for real life, and wearable even if you don’t have an exceptional event to attend, such as the cropped these Bar jacket, the flat hiking boots, the tweed jackets and skirts, and the helmet hats.
The final look, a spectacular bride under a foliage-embroidered green veil, was simply breathtaking.
