Dior at Paris Fashion Week: Monica Bellucci and Cara Delevingne glittered at the maison’s IRL haute couture runway show at Musée Rodin
Dior ventured back into the real world Monday, July 5, after more than a year away, with an in-person show for its autumn/winter 2021-22 haute couture collection in Paris.
Most fashion houses opted to continue with digital shows and presentations as the couture season got under way, but Dior hosted two live shows.
In a way, it felt like an earlier time, before anyone had ever used the term “social distancing” or worn a surgical mask with Louboutin heels.
The shows took place at Dior’s favourite venue, a temporary structure in the garden of the Musée Rodin. Street photographers jostled one another outside the front gate, while invited photographers massed at the photo call within. Guests greeted one another with air kisses. Several foreign accents were proof of a return to overseas travel. There were stars: Jessica Chastain, Monica Bellucci, Cara Delevingne.
STYLE Edit: Tod’s latest accessories inspired by Italian summer
But there were differences. Guests wore masks and had their temperatures taken at the door. Seats on the benches were spaced farther apart than usual, though that was quickly ignored, especially in the front row.
Dior’s creative director, Maria Grazia Chiuri, works frequently with female artists, and for this collection she commissioned French artist Eva Jospin to design life-size, silk-thread embroideries to cover all 350 square metres of the venue’s walls. A nod to the Sala dei Ricami in Rome’s Colonna Palace, they represented several months of handiwork by women at the Chanakya School of Craft in Mumbai.
Why did Richemont just buy Delvaux in an estimated US$300 million deal?
The walls were a reflection of the collection. This was tactile, textured clothing that demanded proximity and presence. The show opened with a range of black-and-white checks and tweeds with matching boots – some looks embroidered with feathers for a tweed effect.
Modernised versions of the house’s iconic Bar jacket were paired with pleated wraparound skirts and tailored trousers. Outerwear was a major theme, such as a cashmere coat with patchwork embroidery. For evening, models wore ethereal long silk plissé dresses in soft shades of mustard, plaster or Dior grey.
Want more stories like this? Sign up here. Follow STYLE on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.
- While most fashion brands went with digital events, Dior hosted two live shows – with masks and temperature checks, of course
- Maria Grazia Chiuri commissioned life-size, silk embroideries that covered all 350 square metres of the venue’s walls – reflecting the textured, tactile clothes
