10-word show review: A myriad of goddesses celebrated for their strength and fragility.
Designer: Maria Grazia Chiuri
Location: Musee Rodin
The vision: After her victorious pre-fall 2023 presentation in Mumbai and her resort 2024 show in Mexico City, Maria Grazia Chiuri continued her strong streak with Dior’s haute couture fall/winter 2023 showing in Paris. Her mandate to support female artists and local artisans has brought forth some of her strongest offerings at the maison. While Chiuri’s silhouettes usually remain consistent and unwavering, her pieces have the vigour and spirit of the multitudes of women involved in the creative process. This, by default, makes each piece she creates inevitable objects of desire.
The vibe: The show space was awash in a blanket of crimson as thanks to the work of Marta Roberti. This vision was brought to life under the stewardship of Karishma Swali, creative director and co-founder of Chanakya School of Craft. The hand-embroidered mural titled ‘Ancestors of a time to come’ took 380 master artisans and 4,800 hours to complete. “The greatest difficulty comes from the sheer scale of this mural,” explained Swali as layers upon layers of thread were tiered on top of each other to create depth. The real beauty, however, seemed to have come from the idea of surrendering. “As with most creatives, control is almost always inevitable but both Swali and I chose to trust the process and that resulted in a seamless collaboration which I felt as a creative, was extremely liberating.” Roberti added.
The style: As a series of white ensembles resembling toiles found at the atelier room of the La Galerie Dior exhibition opened the Dior haute couture fall/winter 2023 show, there was a sense of purity and ease to the collection. Pleats were reimagined like sunrays bursting out from the chest of a sleeveless number and capes fell immaculately on shoulders like cascading falls. The embroidery, translucent and light, looked ultra-chic when paired with a flouncy white shirt, which felt like a nod to the work of the late Gianfranco Ferré. Chiuri’s goddesses manifested through a variety of interpretations as modern-day poets, historians, Maharanis and Grecian warriors with capes made entirely out of pearls and hand-placed crystals—a detail that resembled armour from afar— brought out a sense of strength and fragility to the collection.
The heirloom pieces worthy of a conversation with your asset manager: The star pieces of this collection include the intricate ribbon dress that moves so wondrously with every stride (look 13), as well as the belted white shirt with the wide panelled back, gifting plenty of mileage when styled atop a beaded skirt fit for an evening jaunt about town (look 35). If discreet luxury is not your cup of tea, I suggest you go straight for the bedazzling floor-length netted cape with the swinging fringes (look 60). The striking beadwork washed in brushed gold would undoubtedly turn you into a walking spectacle, which in my opinion, makes absolute sense given the kind of money you will be dropping for it.
1 / 10
Look 5, Dior haute couture fall/winter 2023
2 / 10
Look 13, Dior haute couture fall/winter 2023
3 / 10
Look 25, Dior haute couture fall/winter 2023
4 / 10
Look 29, Dior haute couture fall/winter 2023
5 / 10
Look 35, Dior haute couture fall/winter 2023
6 / 10
Look 40, Dior haute couture fall/winter 2023
7 / 10
Look 45, Dior haute couture fall/winter 2023
8 / 10
Look 54, Dior haute couture fall/winter 2023
9 / 10
Look 60, Dior haute couture fall/winter 2023
10 / 10
