In 1896, the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, Greece, hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the first modern Olympic Games. Last week, the stadium served as the setting for the Dior Cruise 2022 show. The historic site was the perfect location to showcase the 91 looks in the collection, which consisted of sportswear infused with a couture touch and gowns paying homage to Greek mythology. While each look had a personality of its own, one stood out in particular: the final outfit, the Dior swan dress.
The tiered white tulle dress, with a swan’s neck coiled around that of the model and completed with white “wings,” is a look inspired both by two strong women, a theme synonymous with Maria Grazia Chiuri’s tenure at Dior. In an Instagram post, the maison revealed the following about the dress: “A recreation of a costume once worn by actress and renowned House client Marlene Dietrich, whose androgynous style happened to inspire the collection’s soft and slouchy tailoring, the swan additionally alludes to Leda, the Spartan queen of myth also referenced in motifs.”
Leda is the eponymous character in the Greek myth, ‘Leda and the Swan’. The myth, which tells the story of how Zeus disguised himself as a swan in order to seduce Leda, has been the subject of works by artists from Leonardo Da Vinci to Paul Cézanne and W.B. Yeats. Marlene Dietrich’s costume, which she wore to a party in 1935, was itself inspired by the myth.
Most of us today, however, are most familiar with another celebrity’s take on the look. At the 2001 Oscars, Icelandic singer Björk wore a handmade dress designed by Marjan Pejoski. With a tulle skirt, feathered bodice, mesh bodysuit and swan head, the dress attained cult status instantly.
If history is any indicator, this will not be the last time a swan dress makes an appearance. But for now, the moment belongs to Chiuri and her Dior Cruise 2022 collection.
Here, a closer look at the show-stopping Dior swan dress as it was being assembled at Dior’s atelier in Paris.
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