Dior Haute Couture Celebrates Crafts And Savoir Faire From Bombay To Paris

The Dior Haute Couture Spring Summer 2022 Show last week in Paris, during Couture Week, was a sumptuous homage to craftsmanship from Bombay to Paris. Maria Grazia Chiuri took her inspiration from the Art Deco of the 1920s. 

For this show, held under the white tent installed inside the gardens of Musée Rodin, the creative director collaborated with the students of Chanakya School of Craft in Bombay in India. They have embroidered the most prominent artworks of the Indian couple duo Madhvi and Manu Parekh, two of the country’s leading contemporary artists. In this particular period of time, there was an emotional charge, an aura of grace while admiring this perfectly orchestrated scenography.

Stunning colorful and oversized panels were suspended on each side of the walls inside the box. These exceptional pieces of art required thousands of hours of handwork for a whole year. They definitely tell about the power of the craftsman and highlight the complete looks of the collection. Maria Grazia Chiuri, known for her feminist commitment tapped collaborated with 380 women students from the Chanakya School of Craft to create the decor of the Spring Summer 2022 Haute Couture Show. 

In this haute couture collection, once again, Maria Grazia Chiuri honors human relationships with handmade objects. A constant desire to break the boundaries between art and craft for all. To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the first Christian Dior show, Maria Grazia Chiuri went far away in history for this collection. Christian Dior House  did not exist in the 1920s. A divine celebration of embroiderers and arts combined with the constant experimentation and questioning of Haute Couture. “I wanted to celebrate our famous embroiderers Lesage and Hurel, but also those on the other side of the world” said the Creative Director. A mission to maintain the extreme savoir faire of  haute couture houses wherever they are situated. 

Dior show opened the Parisian couture calendar on a sunny day, an ode to grace and lightness. Light grey, black and white colors of the looks melt with the beautiful scenography of the show. 64 elegant looks. Models -with a white deep eyeliner effect and hair “à la garconne” wore asymmetrical draped bodysuits and pleated skirts in black silk tulle with geometric vermicelli smoke tube and shard embroidery made by familial Maison Hurel installed based in Paris since 1879. 

A straight trouser suit in unbleached wool, a champagne colored long dress in fancy lace and organza, or a day dress in grey curly wool: the looks of the collection are not all adorned. An old gold knit lace embroidered with grey satin beads is a feat of stitches embroidery. A clever contrast imagined by Dior Woman Collection creative director. A signature of the collection, the tights derive their spectacular dimension from embroidery to establish a lively dialogue with different pieces, from a grisaille-bedecked grey suit to the lightness of tulle evening dresses.

An evanescent couture collection in a artisanal decor which reveals the deep meaning of  haute couture and the power of the ateliers as a strong collaborative mode of expression.