Dior Couture Fall 2022
If fashion has a diplomatic mission, then couture is surely its main envoy.
With an emphasis on craftsmanship and the absence of commercial imperatives, bespoke clothing production has the power to unite artists and artisans across continents, and nowhere more so than at Dior , where Maria Grazia Chiuri regularly uses her collections. as platforms to empower other women.
This season, she shone the spotlight on Ukrainian artist Olesia Trofymenko, whose work, combining photography and embroidery, served as the backdrop for the show. Chiuri was particularly impressed with Trofymenko's use of folk motifs such as the tree of life, a symbol of rebirth particularly relevant as the artist's country remains at war with Russia.
In keeping with past seasons, the designer's use of embroidery was subtle, the rich textures of her loose dresses almost swallowed up by a neutral palette of black, beige and gray, with an odd touch of chartreuse or red to lips.
Take a buttonless coat, the color of organic linen, which provided the canvas for an intricate needlepoint silk rendering of the tree of life pattern, or a long guipure dress in a rendered floral pattern in rope. By his own admission, these looks are unlikely to appear on Instagram.
“Something invisible takes more work than something more visible. Tailoring is really about culture, less spectacular, less show-off,” Chiuri said during a preview, touching the skirt of a black guipure dress encrusted with velvet appliqués to demonstrate the no seams.
"When you see something really simple, there's a lot of work going into it, but it's possible because couture customers know what couture means," she added .
With its portrait neckline and flared sleeves, a dress made from a patchwork of lace in discreet metallic tones had a Renaissance air. Smocks were used on fabrics ranging from light gray wool crepe to rich black velvet. Embroideries, sometimes as dense as tapestries, were executed by specialized workshops scattered in France, Italy and India.
Chiuri is fascinated by the way clothes travel between cultures and the relative newness of so-called traditional outfits. This is the case of tartan, which she uses either plain, in the case of a dirndl dress with twisted pleats, or embroidered with white flowers for a boxy top and matching skirt.
This shared sartorial heritage is at the heart of what she believes fashion has the power to achieve, connecting different disciplines and nations. "It's really a way of creating beauty together," she said.
Her understated approach to fashion's rarest discipline may disappoint those hoping for a viral moment, but she gives her couture a timeless quality that allows it to cross borders and makes it the definition of an investment in long term.
If fashion has a diplomatic mission, then couture is surely its main envoy.
With an emphasis on craftsmanship and the absence of commercial imperatives, bespoke clothing production has the power to unite artists and artisans across continents, and nowhere more so than at Dior , where Maria Grazia Chiuri regularly uses her collections. as platforms to empower other women.
This season, she shone the spotlight on Ukrainian artist Olesia Trofymenko, whose work, combining photography and embroidery, served as the backdrop for the show. Chiuri was particularly impressed with Trofymenko's use of folk motifs such as the tree of life, a symbol of rebirth particularly relevant as the artist's country remains at war with Russia.
In keeping with past seasons, the designer's use of embroidery was subtle, the rich textures of her loose dresses almost swallowed up by a neutral palette of black, beige and gray, with an odd touch of chartreuse or red to lips.
Take a buttonless coat, the color of organic linen, which provided the canvas for an intricate needlepoint silk rendering of the tree of life pattern, or a long guipure dress in a rendered floral pattern in rope. By his own admission, these looks are unlikely to appear on Instagram.
“Something invisible takes more work than something more visible. Tailoring is really about culture, less spectacular, less show-off,” Chiuri said during a preview, touching the skirt of a black guipure dress encrusted with velvet appliqués to demonstrate the no seams.
"When you see something really simple, there's a lot of work going into it, but it's possible because couture customers know what couture means," she added .
With its portrait neckline and flared sleeves, a dress made from a patchwork of lace in discreet metallic tones had a Renaissance air. Smocks were used on fabrics ranging from light gray wool crepe to rich black velvet. Embroideries, sometimes as dense as tapestries, were executed by specialized workshops scattered in France, Italy and India.
Chiuri is fascinated by the way clothes travel between cultures and the relative newness of so-called traditional outfits. This is the case of tartan, which she uses either plain, in the case of a dirndl dress with twisted pleats, or embroidered with white flowers for a boxy top and matching skirt.
This shared sartorial heritage is at the heart of what she believes fashion has the power to achieve, connecting different disciplines and nations. "It's really a way of creating beauty together," she said.
Her understated approach to fashion's rarest discipline may disappoint those hoping for a viral moment, but she gives her couture a timeless quality that allows it to cross borders and makes it the definition of an investment in long term.
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