Dior puts Ukraine in the spotlight with its latest haute couture – The Hollywood Reporter

Anyone seeking a “return to normalcy” need only look to Paris this week – amid perfect summer weather, the lines to enter the Louvre are pre-COVID long, sidewalk cafes are packed and the haute- couture presentations are once again putting a strong emphasis on Hollywood stars, and not just in the front row. Exhibit A: The blockbuster Balenciaga presented Wednesday morning, with Nicole Kidman, Dua Lipa and Kim Kardashian teaming up with Bella Hadid, Naomi Campbell and other supers for Demna Gvasalia’s latest collection.

Amid such powerful examples of couture fantasy, however, Dior‘s Maria Grazia Chiuri wanted to keep the real world top of mind. That was evident from the moment guests stepped into the marquee in the grounds of the Musée Rodin, with richly embroidered panels along the sides and back walls, on their surface an immediate statement of the care and intricate detail associated with the Parisian craft of tailoring. clothes. “Look at these tapestries,” commented: Naomi Watts† “It must have taken months to make them, and you can feel the love; it is extraordinary.”

Indeed, the oversized panels represented more than the beauty of handicrafts. For inspiration for her autumn/winter 2022 haute couture collection, Grazia Chiuri looked to the Ukrainian artist Olesia Trofymenko and not only used a key symbol of her work – the tree of life – in her designs, she also invited the artist to conceptualize the set for the show. Trofymenko, in turn, reached across another frontier, to Mumbai’s Chanakya School of Craft, to create the intricately detailed backgrounds.

Marisa Berenson was one of the guests who was not surprised that Grazia Chiuri would choose to focus Dior’s spotlight on the war in Ukraine about five months after the invasion by Russia. “What Maria does incredibly beautifully is she takes what’s happening in the world and creates a fashion world that reflects what’s happening out there,” she said. “So it’s not just about fashion; it’s also about what’s happening on many levels, social and artistic, and that’s what makes it rich, interesting and thought-provoking.”

Trofymenko’s artful aesthetic, of course, lends itself beautifully to the floral and vine embroideries that adorned many of Grazia Chiuri’s pieces — and there’s a legacy to that idea, too, considering how deeply Christian Dior loved his garden and tried it in many collections. to include. But the label’s current artistic director also found ways to elevate both those embroideries and the idea of ​​folkloric themes in general, creating looks that were not only on-the-fly, but also respectfully paid tribute to a part of of the world in real crisis.

Indeed, with such a statement, Grazia Chiuri tries to emphasize the deeply felt tradition that various elements of this fashion have enjoyed literally centuries in a specific region of the global landscape. Anyone who has planted sunflowers in support of Ukraine or worn blue and yellow, the colors of the Ukrainian flag, has done the same in solidarity; Grazia Chiuri only elevates that idea to the ne-plus-ultra of fashion.

Some of the resulting pieces were just beautiful interpretations of this idea. Aside from the lavish embroidery, Grazia Chiuri also used silk chiffon to create sheer dresses that, upon closer inspection, reinterpreted the iconic Bar jacket of the house through smocking and structure aided by the use of ribbons. Embroidered details dancing around a hem only enhanced the movement of many of these dresses, which should be making their way onto the approaching red carpets.

“Maria Grazia is a woman who is extremely thoughtful, cultured and intelligent, and especially what she has done today with this celebration of Ukraine, especially during haute couture, is quite remarkable,” said Elle Macpherson† “What I love about Dior is the way they maneuver through this time and offer such a well-rounded perspective – on culture, on creative and on fashion of course, but it’s so much more.”

For anyone who ever ponders whether fashion is art, or whether fashion should position itself in current global or political conversations, Watts pointed to the work of Grazia Chiuri and had a ready answer. “Fashion is an art form and these are stories that need to be told,” she said. “If you have a big voice and a following, all the more reason. And Maria Grazia Chiuri is good at that.”