The Dior spring/summer 2025 haute couture collection in Paris, envisioned by Creative Director Maria Grazia Chiuri, featuring a set by artist Rithika Merchant. Chiuri invited us into a world where time bent and fashion transcended traditional boundaries. In a captivating blend of sartorial memory and avant-garde transformation, Chiuri reawakened the essence of past creativity while simultaneously disrupting the present of fashion. With echoes of Christian Dior’s legacy, Chiuri drew inspiration from the iconic 1958 Trapèze line by the house’s former creative director Yves Saint Laurent and explored the delicate interplay between innocence and rebellion, creating garments that defied time and space. From lace-trimmed tulle culottes to feather-embellished crinolines, the collection captured a fantastical world where memory, movement, and innovation collided in extraordinary ways.
Photo by Adrien Dirand, courtesy of Dior.
In an enchanting collaboration with Mumbai-based artist Rithika Merchant, an immersive installation of nine paintings and large-scale textile panels was created for the setting of the show. Unveiled in the garden of the Rodin Museum, “The Flowers We Grow” celebrated the power of womanhood across generations. Open to the public from January 28 to February 2, 2025, the installation reflects Dior’s ongoing support for women artists, blending tradition, art, and fashion into a stunning visual experience.
Through the Dior Looking Glass
Courtesy of Dior.
Courtesy of Dior.
As if stepping through a mirror into an alternate reality, Chiuri explored a universe where the lines between past and future blurred, and transformation was the only constant. The show was a fantasy full of bird-women with punk Mohican headpieces and flower-women draped in capes of endless petals. In a wonderland-like fashion, Chiuri experimented with scale, contrasting tiny, simple silhouettes against dramatic, obtuse, structured skirts.
Merchant’s vivid paintings in gouache, watercolor, and ink on paper, which enraptured natural landscapes, transported the audience to a botanical fantasy. The soft, flowing forms of her paintings, when translated into fabric blurred the lines between the imagined and the real, much like the garments on the runway.
Rithika Merchant’s Exploration of Myths and the Matriarchy
Courtesy of Dior.
Courtesy of Dior.
Chiuri masterfully blurred the boundaries of the feminine form, creating pieces that were both timeless and transformative. Pairing with the fantasy of the garments, Merchant’s artwork told a story that celebrated the female force and envisioned a positive, empowering future. “The seeds we plant in the past grow into the flowers of the present,” Merchant said, emphasizing the power of narratives passed down through generations of matriarchs.
“The seeds we plant in the past grow into the flowers of the present,” —Rithika Merchant
In this collection, the large textile panels created by Karishma Swali, the Chanakya ateliers, and the Chanakya School of Craft, became immersive portals into a landscape that reflected the evolving essence of womanhood across time. Through the transformation of Merchant’s botanical-inspired paintings into intricate stitches, beautiful colors, and elegant fabrics, the talented women of Chanakya brought this narrative to life. Together, they created a visual dialogue transcending time, honoring the strength, beauty, and power of women across generations.
Maria Grazia Chiuri Captures Memories in Material
Courtesy of Dior
Courtesy Dior.
Hidden in the lace-trimmed tulle culottes were the memories of a “child-woman” pushing boundaries and challenging the world. Modern crinolines, with their concealed structures and embroidered threads, evoked a sense of dynamic movement. Building on the past, the collection revisited the Cigale silhouette from Dior’s 1952-1953 haute couture line, using original moiré fabrics in a skirt paired with a fitted tailcoat to create an enchanting contrast in proportion. Delicate organza feathers adorned capes, and the use of black emphasized the elegant lines of luxury coats. A long, elegant dress, with its burnished silver embroidery, captured the collection’s sense of timeless transformation.
