The 18th-century Villa Albani Torlonia hosted Maria Grazia Chiuri’s Cruise 2026 collection for Dior this week in Rome, welcoming guests like Natalie Portman, Deva Cassel, Han So-hee, and Valeria Golino to a hazy show underneath transparent umbrellas. As mist drifted through the manicured hedges, the runway turned into a “Bella Confusione”—the collection’s hauntingly beautiful theme.
“Together, we have written an impactful chapter of which I am immensely proud,”
—Maria Grazia Chiuri
A Final Collection with Dior for Maria Grazia Chiuri
Chiuri framed the show as a contemporary Bal de l’Imagination, centered around the extravagant masked parties of 20th-century Roman patron Mimì Pecci-Blunt. The collection’s subtitle, “Bella Confusione,” borrows the title that screenwriter Ennio Flaiano gave to Federico Fellini for the movie 8 ½, hinting at a combination of memory, costume, and cinematic fantasy.
80 Looks, One Palette
Photo by © ADRIEN DIRAND.
Photo by © ADRIEN DIRAND.
Eighty silhouettes—49 ready-to-wear and 31 haute couture—were seen like spectral characters moving between epochs. White and its various shades dominated the color palette, which allowed texture to become the narrative, playing with faille, point-d’esprit, and crocheted macramé. When color appeared, it was theatrical, including crimson and onyx on velvet mini-dresses, as well as one dramatic gown cut in gold velvet that glowed against the ominous sky. Topping many of the looks, as well, were black lace eye mask veils, toying with time, allure, and purpose.
True to Chiuri form, tailoring was sprinkled in, too, with menswear vests with peak lapels topping bell-shaped skirts; tailcoats shadowing models like phantoms; and column dresses nodding to Rome’s priestly lineage. Military jackets dotted by jet buttons brought a rebellious energy, while sheer lace gowns became nearly invisible in the drizzle of the night—an ethereal glow mid-show.
Dior Imagines Cruise as Performance
© LAURA SCIACOVELLI © FONDAZIONE TORLONIA.
Sticking to her multidisciplinary ethos, as well, Chiuri treated the runway as a performance. Dutch sibling choreographers Irme and Marne Van Opstal populated the garden with models that blurred audience and performer, foreground and backdrop. To set the mood, the composer and cellist Oliver Coates conducted the orchestra in an electronic-laced score.
Meanwhile, Roman artist Pietro Ruffo re-animated the villa’s teatro di verzura, inserting cartographic grotesques amid its boxwood walls—a nod to the Enlightenment scholars who once debated antiquities here. The effect was unforgettable: Renaissance garden, Baroque stage, and an alluring illusion that layered the night.
Unlocking A Treasured Villa in Rome
Photo by © ADRIEN DIRAND.
For fashion die-hards, the venue itself was a headline news point. Villa Albani, home to one of the world’s great private collections of Greco-Roman statuary, is rarely open to the public. Chiuri’s decision to host Dior’s latest show here underscored her ongoing project of re-connecting Dior to Italy’s artistic patrimony—a lineage Christian Dior himself romanticized, even in perfume names like Soirée Romaine and Bal Vénitien.
Maria Grazia Chiuri Final Dior Chapter.
As the final model disappeared into a veil of rain, Chiuri took her bow for what is arguably her last Dior collection, drenched and radiant. If “Bella Confusione” implies productive chaos, the designer charted it out, offering a reminder that couture’s most compelling power lies not in perfection, but where art, mythology, and experience collide.
“After nine years, I am leaving Dior, delighted to have been given this extraordinary opportunity. I would like to thank Monsieur Arnault for placing his trust in me and Delphine for her support,” said Chiuri. “I am particularly grateful for the work accomplished by my teams and the Ateliers. Their talent and expertise allowed me to realize my vision of committed women’s fashion, in close dialogue with several generations of female artists. Together, we have written an impactful chapter of which I am immensely proud.”
“She has written a key chapter in the history of Christian Dior, greatly contributing to its remarkable growth and being the first woman to lead the creation of women’s collections.”
—Delphine Arnault
Delphine Arnault, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Christian Dior Couture, said, “I extend my warmest thanks to Maria Grazia Chiuri, who, since her arrival at Dior, has accomplished tremendous work with an inspiring feminist perspective and exceptional creativity, all imbued with the spirit of Monsieur Dior, which allowed her to design highly desirable collections. She has written a key chapter in the history of Christian Dior, greatly contributing to its remarkable growth and being the first woman to lead the creation of women’s collections.”
