Staged beside the Gateway of India landmark in Mumbai.
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For Pre-Fall 2023, Dior (PARIS:CDI.PA +2.17%) set its designs in motion beside the Gateway of India landmark in Mumbai — a city for which creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri cherishes a deep-rooted, longstanding affinity. For more than 20 years, the visionary has maintained a working friendship with Karishma Swali, the director of Chanakya ateliers and the Chanakya School of Craft in Mumbai, a place of exchange, study and emancipation for many women in the region. Through next season’s clothes, Chiuri looks to champion India’s rich history and spotlight the country’s influence in her fashion — and the industry’s, at large.
“It was through this relationship with Chanakya that I was able to learn so much about the artisanal embroidery techniques, which are still found in each and every Indian region, and the unique ability of the Chanakya Atelier to put them in dialogue with the fashion industry,” said Chiuri.
The collection delves into the French fashion house’s archives — specifically, those dating back to April 1962, when then-creative director Marc Bohan traveled to India, notably to Mumbai and Delhi, to initiate conversations between France and India. At the time, Bohan’s international escapades marked a new era for Dior, one that invited younger customers and a more modern design approach into the Maison.
Crystalizing Bohan’s path-forging work and Swali’s influences, Chiuri selected a distinct, kaleidoscopic color palette that places emphasis on timeless design codes. Reshaping her signature silhouettes, the line includes a color-block sequence of silks, which spans shades including green, yellow, pink and purple, on upscale evening coats, sari-inspired straight skirts and traditional Indian attire. Merging heritages and fashion histories, the silk-infused lineup also flaunts a bevy of shiny pants, boleros, jackets and tops.
Meanwhile, embroidery becomes a crucial player in Dior’s appraisal of India’s cartography. Across the collection, the artistic design technique spotlights the intrinsic skillsets supplied by the Chanakya School of Craft, with the ultimate intention of empowering a woman’s inventiveness directly on the female form. Together, silver sequins and strass, decorative motifs and toile de Jouy fabric harmoniously communicate Chuiri’s creative dialogue — one that, per the collection notes, “perpetuates precious illustrations of exceptional savoir-faire, confirming the unfailing bond between France and India.”
Peruse Dior’s Pre-Fall 2023 collection in the gallery above.