TESTAMENTS OF BEAUTY

Backstage with Creative and Image Director Peter Philips on his inspiration for Dior's Fall 2023 show in India

- PRATIKSHA ACHARYA

Fashion’s partner-in-crime will always be beauty – and Creative and Image Director of Dior, Peter Philips’s partnership with Creative Director of Dior Womenswear, Maria Grazia Chiuri, is a living proof of this symbiosis. With a long and illustrious career that has seen him work at some of the most renowned Maisons in the world, coming to India for the Dior Fall 2023 show was a new experience, even for Philips. We chatted with him about his idea of beauty, and what inspires him.

GRAZIA: You have previously mentioned that you are a big fan of colour. How did you decide the colour palette for this show?

PETER PHILIPS: While colour is very significant to me, we kept the make-up really simple for the show. We didn’t want it to clash with the colourful collection that Maria Grazia Chiuri has created. We did it in a way that complimented the clothes and didn’t draw away attention from them. With Guido for hair, the set designer, and the music, together we are all there to bring the designer’s vision to life. It’s a tribute to India, and we used a lot of kohl liner and a black smokey eye with a wet texture. Guido did finger waves for the hair, which is kind of vintage because Maria Grazia Chiuri showed us a few images from the 1920s-30s that had the same aesthetic, and we just tried to recreate that with no contouring and highlighting, no colour on the lips, and no mascara either. We wanted it to look raw.