Yesterday in Paris at the Musée Rodin, from an immersive set filled with Indian art, Dior revealed its Spring/Summer 2022 collection designed by Maria Grazia Chiuri. From the start, the atmosphere was set for craft and creativity, by hand and collaboration, to flourish, with the presentation room’s adorned in monumental textile works by the award-winning Indian artists Madhvi and Manu Parekh. These widely-celebrated contemporary creators—who both used embroidery to communicate the dichotomies of male versus female, action versus stillness, and real versus surreal—offered works to be interpreted by the Mumbai ateliers of Chanakya and the Chanakya School of Craft.
The hand-embroidered large-scale installations, which are now on view to the public through January 30, continues Chiuri’s long-standing relationship with the craft school she regularly calls on for Dior sets, and was fine-tuned under the direction of the school’s creative director, Karishma Swali, and by the art historians and curators Maria Alicata and Paola Ugolini.
Courtesy of Dior.
“The collective vision for this collaboration was to create an immersive experience that celebrates the culture of craftsmanship and the interconnection between us all. This collaboration with the artists aims to overcome the division between art and craft, invoking a shared language between the two,” said Swali.
“I began collecting the works by the Parekhs personally many years ago and found an incredible synergy between modernism and traditional Indian motifs, with a deep reverence for exceptional craftsmanship as a unifying thread, exemplifying my mission for Chanakya and our School of Craft,” she continued. “The challenge of interpreting their work was thrilling, and we went about the fabrication in a very spontaneous way—allowing the vivid lines and forms of the artists to lead the way.”
Courtesy of Dior.
Within this gratifying space, Chiuri elaborated on its celebration of craft—and the merging of art and craft entirely—by showing an array of looks focused on artisanry and restraint. Embroidery moved from being a decorative detail to a structural element of the fabric itself; dresses of lamé jacquard fabrics cascaded down the body; and fishnet jumpsuits and dresses were embroidered with geometrical patters in metallic beads.
Courtesy of Dior.
First paired with an asymmetrical bodysuit with crystal and jet tubing, we noticed a collection item become a key piece throughout—tights with embroidered embellishmets. They continued to make an appearance in the new line, paired with other suit skirts and dresses, before making way for other interative material combinations. Wool and silk jacket and pant ensembles, cashmere cots, lace gowns, and tulle dresses all moved in their own ways, punctuated by trapeze cuts, ribbed panels, sunburst pleats, and details of mounted vintage roses.
Courtesy of Dior.
From start to finish, the collection’s earthy palette stayed minimal—carried mostly by whites, beiges, and blacks—and in harmony with the textile tapestries that hung nearby. By reimagining the relationship of the studio and atelier, the artist and the craftsman, Chiuri’s new looks for Spring/Summer 2022 celebrate the essence of couture today and made us hopeful of its future.
