Photo: Voguerunway.com
Every since he was a child, Christian Dior dreamt of faraway lands. The location of his childhood home in Normandy, close to the sea, invited his imagination to travel beyond what the eye could see, with this naturally shaping Dior’s later work in fashion. In fact, his taste for travel and foreign cultures was expressed in his first collection in 1947. One of his dresses was called Mexico. This was followed by Acapulco, Soirée à Mexico and Mexique, a tulle dress embroidered with golden scales, dreamed up for autumn-winter 1951.
The ‘Mexico’ dress. Photo: V&A museum
In today’s Dior, driven by the insatiable curiosity for the diversity of savoir-faire expressed in the work of Maria Grazia Chiuri, the passion for foreign aesthetics is more alive than ever, with Dior hosting recently events in Mumbai and Seville. For Cruise 2024, the Maison brought guests to Mexico City, where Chiuri has once again forged strong ties with local artisans, who co-created everything from jewelry to “sombreros”, and spectacular embroideries adorning dresses and shirts. Some of the traditional local ateliers engaged include Yolcentle, Sna Jolobil, Remigio Mestas, Rocinante, Plata Villa, and Alema.
Photo: Voguerunway.com
Following Chiuri’s admiration for strong women, Frida Khalo was one of the main inspirations of the show held at Colegio de San Ildefonso. The Mexican painter transcended her body through her clothes, which became representation, protest, and affirmation. The Dior Creative Director was inspired by photographs of Kahlo bending the rules of gender boundaries, with this reflecting on the runway in austere black looks, loose skirts, suits, and even looks with bow-ties.
Photo: Voguerunway.com
Other looks were light and breezy, white from top to bottom, with flaired crochet skirts and relaxed blouses, and feminine dresses in lace, with butterflies embroidered. Another standout: the bar jacket, now reinvented with a mariachi touch. All paired with cool cowboy style boots, for a style amazon.
Photo: Voguerunway.com
To close the show, artist Elina Chauvet created a special live installation marrying fashion, crafts and performance. Over the Spring of 2023 in Mexico City, Chauvet and a group of sixteen women embroiderers worked on twenty white toiles cotton muslin dresses drawn from the Dior archives in Paris, now reimagined with words and symbols all stitched in red cotton threads.
Below, take a closer look at some of the many standout looks from the show.
Photo: Voguerunway.com
Photo: Voguerunway.com
Photo: Voguerunway.com
Photo: Voguerunway.com
Photo: Voguerunway.com
