Held by the historic Gateway of India, the event featured designs made in partnership with the Chanakya School of Craft, which has embroidered Dior pieces for 25 years.
The Christian Dior brand has had a longstanding love affair with India, with its shared history and passions being celebrated in numerous creative dialogues combining innovation and ancestral heritage. The latest pre-fall 2023 show held at the Gateway of India in Mumbai was no exception. The show was Christian Dior’s latest major undertaking, featuring a collaboration with Karishma Swali, who directs the Chanakya ateliers and the Chanakya School of Craft in Mumbai, which brought to life artistic director Maria Grazia Chiuri’s love for embroidery and the craft of India.
The show featured an impressive 99 styles, with many of the styles created in collaboration concerning the choice of colour palette, motifs, mirror work, sequins, and crafts. The show was unique in that it featured 23 Indian models, 33 Indian models with international backgrounds, and 43 international ones, carefully chosen to showcase the beautiful fusion of Indian and Western fashion.
The choice of Mumbai for the show was a symbolic one, with the Gateway of India, overlooking the Arabian Sea, being one of the city’s best-loved landmarks. The show’s creative concept was taken a step further with the 46-foot “Toran,” a site-specific artwork just below the Gateway itself, realized via a collaboration between the Chanakya Ateliers and Chanakya School of Craft. The female artisans of the Chanakya School of Craft and the master artisans from the Chanakya Atelier handcrafted the Toran as a communal activity, drawing on their own design vocabulary and each choosing which symbols of good fortune to integrate into the piece. The Toran required 35,000 hours of handwork to complete and employed 25 craft techniques, including phulkari, mirror work, French knotting, and kantha.
Held in one of the most historic landmarks of Mumbai known as the Gateway of India, the show was just perfect and special! The latest Dior’s pre-fall 2023 collection was inspired by the traditional Indian garments. “This deeply personal tribute to the subcontinent’s culture focused a spotlight on the creative overlap between its wide-ranging mastery of textile crafts and the House’s perpetual devotion to savoir-faire excellence,” The Maison shared in its official account in social media.
Maria Grazia Chiuri decided to incorporate long silk skirts inspired by the sari, flowy trousers, and elegant evening wear as a tribute to India’s culture in terms of clothing, textures, colours, and silhouettes. Some of the designs include a captivating pattern, tie-dye, and a colour palette ranging from bright greens and yellows to deep pinks and purple tones. The relevance of embroidery, traditional Indian costumes, or abstract prints to matching pants, fluid silhouettes, tops or jackets, and pearls were some of the key trends. However, colour gained supreme prominence.
“In the House’s ateliers in Paris, the petites mains can be seen exercising their #DiorSavoirFaire in the construction of pieces ahead of the unveiling of #DiorFall23 by Maria Grazia Chiuri at the Mumbai show. From the execution of sari-inspired draping to the precise folds of a rani pink silk dress or the naturalistic imagery of a ‘Jardin Indien’ print top and a colourful patchwork skirt, the garments exude the energy of this creative fusion of France and India.” – From DIOR.
These colours were chosen as a tribute to French designer Marc Bohan who took Dior under the wing for nearly 30 years. He marked a new era for Dior, specifically when dating back to April 1962, creative director Marc Bohan travelled to India (Mumbai and Delhi) to converse between France and India. This international connection he established also invited younger customers and a more modern design approach into the Maison.
STAR STUDDED GUEST LIST OF DIOR’S PRE-FALL 2023 SHOW
Held by the historic Gateway of India, the event featured designs made in partnership with the Chanakya School of Craft, which has embroidered Dior pieces for 25 years. The show featured more than 800 guests, with a front row including Maisie Williams, Simone Ashley, Phakphum Romsaithong and Nattawin Wattanagitiphat. There were plenty of celebrities (47 to be exact) in the front row of the Dior Pre-Fall 2023 show.
The unique thing about this front row is that most of the celebrities were wearing pieces from the Pre-Fall 2023 collection, which was presented back in December 2022. Juliette Binoche, Anya Taylor-Joy and Elizabeth Debicki have all worn pieces from this collection during awards season already.
CHARITHRA CHANDRAN
Charithra Chandran surely had her fun in this Dior black embellished dress. The dress is from Dior’s previous Fall RTW collection.
ANANYA PANDAY
Ananya donned a chic magenta pink co-ord set which consisted of a top and a skirt with cut-out features. She accessorised her outfit with a 4-tier pearl choker and pearl earrings. The diva completed the look with the famous Lady Dior mini bag in a black sparkly design along with a pair of black and white shoes. She also opted for a sleek back hairdo, kohled eyes, blush pink highlighter, and glossy lips.
