While many fashion houses have opted to put their shows on hold this year due to the pandemic or go completely digital, Christian Dior was one of the few Maisons which went ahead with its plans, albeit an altered version which could be what we see in shows for the foreseeable future.
The famed Dior Cruise show for 2021 went ahead, taking place in the Piazza del Duomo in Lecce, Puglia. While the usual celebrities and fashion influencers were missing from the front-row, the Maison still managed to put on a dazzling show in front of its small audience which consisted of press, fashion executives and artisans.
The remainder of the audience tuned in digitally, watching the show live on YouTube and other online channels in the hopes of reaching a global audience of 20 million, which Christian Dior’s CEO Pietro Beccari told Vogue Business pre-show.
The 90-look collection featured hand-knitted pieces, fringed detailing on skirts and structured pinafore dresses, all of which were to give a “new dimension”, Maria Grazia Chiuri Dior’s creative director said. “During this period, I sought to give collective efforts a new dimension,” she explained. “Despite the disadvantages of distance, bringing a different perspective to our daily lives has given us strength and imagination.”
Arist Pietro Ruffo also took inspiration from the iconic flower-embroidered Miss Dior dress by Christian Dior, with his own wildflower drawings, which were translated onto the colourful dresses in the collection.
The location for the show was also close to Chiuri personally, as her father hails from Puglia, but she also wanted to showcase the craftsmanship of the region. In fact, one of the dresses was handmade by one of the women in the region who is still a master in the old lacemaking technique of the region with bobbin lace. Additionally, the motto of the region ‘Amando e Cantandol’ meaning ‘Loving and Singing’ in English, is woven on the back of the skirts in the collection.
While the intricate Dior pieces in the collection spoke for themselves, the scenography of the show took it took to a whole new level. With 30,000 LED bulbs used on the luminarie, 20km of cables, 1.5km of LED flex tube to write the artist’s phrases and 12 days of work to assemble, plus a live and dancers performing while the models took to the runway, it’s safe to safe Dior most certainly put on an extravaganza.
If you happened to miss the show, you can watch it below.
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Images: Supplied
