For Dior’s annual Cruise (Resort) collection, Maria Grazia Chiuri brought all her people to Seville, Spain, taking over the vast Plaza de España decorated for the occasion like a street festival with strings of lights and striped tents furnished with handpainted wooden tables and chairs.
“I really love the area”, Chiuri said to Vogue. “You feel that tradition is really alive here. I recognize a lot of myself in this Mediterranean idea of women. I’ve felt a strong link and connection”.
Inspired by the bold and revolutionary spirit of flamenco dancer Carmen Amaya, the fashion house’s new offering of 110 looks fuses the city’s rich history, with its traditions, craftsmanship, stories and female heroes, with its creations, promising a show filled with high-octane music and provocative art. Chiuri called on artist María Ángeles Vila Tortosa to create four posters, depicting Amaya in different poses, whose pastel-colored artwork was used as prints on items.
Maria Grazia Chiuri has also partnered with various local artists and artisans to create exclusive products. The hats, by Stephen Jones, were made by the Fernandez Y Roche workshop and inspired by photos of the Duchess of Alba riding Jackie Kennedy. The fringed and embroidered Manila shawls were made by Maria Jose Sanchez Espinar and reiterations of Christian Dior‘s Saddle bag came from a collaboration with leather craftsman Javier Menacho Guisado, among others.
This is one of Maria Grazia Chiuri’s most accomplished collections to date, packed with desirable garments and exceptional details, like the three-dimensional gold thread embroidery, borrowed from liturgical robes, on one of the house’s signature Bar jackets.
©Dior
