Courtesy of Dior
For Dior‘s first ever couture show in the Middle East, Maria Grazia Chiuri brought the circus to Safa Park in Dubai on the evening of March 18. Under the tent of the circus, which Chiuri described as a “magical place” in her show notes, the Spring/Summer 19 Haute Couture was revealed to celebrities, designers and influencers in the most extravagant manner. Read on to find out all the highlights from last night’s show.
The exclusive collection
Courtesy of Dior
Besides flying in the SS19 collection from Paris, Dior created a capsule collection of 15 unique dresses exclusively for the presentation in Dubai. As the first woman to ever lead the French label, Chiuri revisited Dior’s archives through a feminist lens and redefined them to honor the contemporary woman with these creations.
Courtesy of Dior
Appealing to the glitz and glamour of Dubai were pleated shimmer skirts in rainbow colors and other dresses enhanced by radiant golds and bold reds intermingled with subtle hues of lilac and green. Among the 15 silhouettes were glittering mini-dresses adorned with clown collars that were paired with equally glittery boots imprinted with stars. While the iconic Bar jacket was reborn as a tamer’s jacket with flamboyant accents, hand-embroidered gold frogging punctuated the long, fitted redingotes. Every look was made complete with embellished netted face veils and skullcaps. A gold-and-black pattern designed with the combination of stars, polka-dots, and paisley seen on one of the skullcaps was a nod to the Arab world as well as the star Christian Dior once found on the sidewalk outside of what is now the designer’s flagship store.
Circus in the park
Courtesy of Dior
Dior and the circus go way back. Both, the collection and the way it was presented paid homage to Christian Dior‘s love for the Cirque d’Hiver. Against the backdrop of Dubai’s glimmering skyline, the big top tent breathed a whole new life to the public park. Inside, a vintage yet theatrical ambiance awaited the guests who were seated in a central circle. The catwalk was nothing short of a spectacle even without the missing acrobats from the Paris show.
Makeup by Peter Philips
Courtesy of Dior
Peter Philips, who is the creative and image director for Dior’s makeup line reprised his role as the makeup artist from the show in Paris to bring similarly iconic looks to Dubai. For his glamorous take on the circus’ most integral part, the clown, Philips defined the models’ eyes with bold and graphic black eyeliner while some even had sparkling “clown tears” under them. With hair pulled back into slick ponytails, Philips let the glowing skin and pink lips take center stage with the eyes.
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