Gateway To India

The Dior Fall’23 Show, Which Was Staged In Mumbai, Was Maria Grazia Chiuri’s Love Letter To India And Its Unique Culture Of Craft

- CAROLINE SUGANDA

In 2016, Maria Grazia Chiuri took on the role as Dior’s first ever female creative director. And in her time with the French luxury house, the Italian fashion designer has managed to successfully reinvigorate its fashion — not only by introducing covetable items like the Book Tote or by resurrecting the brand’s signature Oblique print and splashing it on everything, from accessories to ready-to-wear clothes, but also by rewriting the rules of women’s fashion.

As a woman operating in the fashion big leagues, Chiuri has always understood that her work needed to be as much about feminism and female empowerment, as it was about fashion. This is why she chooses to collaborate with fellow female creatives — artists like Judy Chicago, designers like Grace Wales Bonner or even lesser-known artisans from different regions of the world — so as to highlight their work and their talents. For example, the Cruise’21 show that was held in Puglia featured the work of local artisan Marilena Sparasci, one of the last remaining embroiderers specialising in 15th century Tombolo lace, while the set of Dior Autumn-Winter’23 show featured a largescale “tentacular” installation by Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos.

The work of Chiuri has often deepened the consumer’s understanding of fashion — that the industry is not just about beautiful clothes, but also about the artisans who produce them. But craftsmanship often has close ties to a specific culture, and a culture usually boasts a strong relationship with a country. So when it comes to Chiuri, sometimes the question is not “Who next?”, but rather, “Where next?”