Ahead Of The Game

In Athens, the Dior Cruise 2022 show at the Panathenaic Stadium is more than just a runway show, it’s also a study of Greek mythology from a feminine perspective, and a cultural exchange of heritage

- Caroline Suganda

For Dior’s creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri, the Cruise season is more than just another collection, it’s also a cultural dialogue and exchange. In fact, to call it a ready-to-wear show seems to be an understatement. It’s more a well thought-out production, a performance that, in her own words, “links our heritage with the local heritage”.

This idea had taken form in Chiuri’s head two Cruise seasons ago. If you recall, it started with the last Cruise show before the pandemic hit, where guests disembarked from a Dior plane in Marrakech. African prints and craftsmanship were highlighted on Dior classics, as models walked down the runway at the city’s landmark El Badi Palace. And then it continued through to the next Cruise show in 2021, held in Puglia, when Chiuri paid homage to her roots with the region’s age-old textile arts and lace embroidery, and used luminarie — traditionally used in the local light festival — to illuminate the venue of the show.

This Cruise 2022 collection is no different and no less impressive. Destination: Greece. Beyond its obvious natural beauty, the country is known for its history, for specifically being the cradle of Western civilization. And Chiuri is looking specifically at Athens, the city of ancient myths. The choice of venue itself — the Panathenaic Stadium — has been the beating heart of Greek cultural history for hundreds of years, the place where athletic games were held in ancient times in honour of the goddess Athena. It is also the place which hosted the first modern Olympics in 1896.