Contemporary Goddesses Rule Dior Haute Couture within Chanakya-Designed Setting

Dior’s mainstay haute couture show location at the Rodin Museum was bustling with attendees two days ago, marking the return of Haute Couture Week in Paris. Between perfectly manicured hedges and lush greenery stretching to the sky, the maison’s iconic classic white box entrance featured tropical iconography, including palm trees and flying birds.

Inside, special visuals continued to immerse the viewer in subtropic scenes seen on all walls, featuring women amongst the wild. Surrounded by flora, fauna, birds, buffalo, horses, and even leopards, the ingenues appeared calm and communicative with their surroundings. Created by Dior’s longstanding set design partners from Mumbai, Chanakya and the Chanakya School of Craft, the atmosphere set an astounding stage for the haute couture show that followed.

For Fall/Winter 2023, Maria Grazia Chiuri presented a swath of muted colors and flowing silhouettes. White, beige, silver, and gold carried a slow evolution of what haute couture was and is, noting how its unique practice has been shaped by history, excellence, and the very woman who wears it. With this new collection, Chiuri presents a selection of sartorial garments and accessories that hinge on the idea of royalty—from the archetypal tunics and peplums to the capes and stoles. Walking, models even take on a hieratic sequence, taking step after step in a way previous and current rulers of the world might take.

In this arena, contemporary goddesses rule. Several reinterpretations and founding style emblems of antiquity are seen, including lace gowns and structured blazers. Juxtaposing the strength and fragility of women, looks of various shapes and lengths supported the idea of the community they create and uphold. Swinging hemlines and breezy silhouettes were tapered and tailored at the waists to emphasize the woman's divine shape; hand-sewn beads and crystals made up embellishments on several tops, skirts, and capes; and flat shoes—namely ballet flats and sandals—graced all looks, reminding the viewer that the stance of a woman can be both firm in its rooting, yet soft in approach.

In a future filled with sensitivity and attention to detail, Dior Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2023 sits center stage.