Yesterday, Maria Grazia Chiuri presented her Dior Cruise 2020 show, and it was her best one yet, for these reasons.
The setting
The show took place in Marrakech at sunset, it doesn't get more beautiful that that. Guests were invited to the Palais El Badi, where they sat around the central courtyard's pool, which was illuminated by floating candles.
There is also the fact that the house of Dior has many ties with Morocco. Christian Dior created a white tulle gown called 'Maroc', inspired by the city's white walls. And of course, it's hard to think if Morocco without thinking of Yves Saint Laurent, who worked with Dior and took over when the designer died in 1957. He owned a villa there and was fascinated by the country.
The message behind the collection
The collection was symbolic in many ways. Chiuri firstly wanted to pay homage to Saint Laurent. But most importantly, she wanted to create an exchange of cultures rather than culture appropriation. The show notes opened with this quite by Tahar Ben Jelloun (Racism Explained to My Daughter), which read, 'Culture teaches us to live together, teaches us that we’re not alone in the world, that other people have different traditions and ways of living that are just as valid as our own.'
So Chiuri consulted anthropologist Anne Grosfilley to explore the origins and evolution of African cultures, and their links to Europe. She collaborated with Uniwax, a factory and studio in Ivory Coast, to create a wax print fabric which reflected on both Dior's archives and African symbols.
The collections itself
The result was (spoiler alert) stunning. The clothes were African-made, featured some African prints, but weaved in with Dior's code. Think dresses with that signature full skirt in rich colours and patterns, sheer detailing and loose tailoring. There were tassels, embroidery and embellishments, printed headscarves and metallic woven tote bags.
The people
Jessica Alba, Diana Ross, Karlie Kloss and Lupita Nyong'o were just some of the many famous faces in attendance at the show.
The after party
Diana Ross performed a set at the after party, and that's really all that needs to be said. Epic.
