Frida Kahlo and the Vibrance of Mexico City Inspire Dior Cruise 2024

Dior womenswear designer Maria Grazia Chiuri embraced Kahlo’s dichotomy of identity in all aspects, from intellectual silhouettes to those that favored fragility and delicateness. Subverting the norms of gendered dress from her late teens onward, Kahlo’s favored men’s three-piece suit held a strong presence in the collection, contrasted by traditional full skirts with tunics and long, effeminate dresses, which were not unlike the garments worn by the artist in her self-portraits. These juxtapositions appeared with textiles and decorative details, too, ranging from velvet, cotton, hemp, and silk, to motifs of tropical flora and fauna (also reminding us of the imagery in Kahlo’s portraits), intricate lace, tweed, and toile de Jouy composed of flocks of butterflies.

Walking the stone runway, which glistened with evening rain, were looks like a take on a tuxedo featuring a skirt and a black velvet jacket with deep red embroidery, tweed suits with neckties and oxfords, and loose blouses with airy, matching trousers—like an all-over printed ensemble styled with a matching bucket bag, boots, and a long strand of beads and golden butterflies. Other standout designs include a pink gown with puffed sleeves, a black dress with a two-tiered skirt featuring a striped hem, a white lace look with an ornate silver belt, and the selection of garments, accessories, and textiles crafted with local weavers and artisans, including Yolcentle, Sna Jolobil, Remigio Mestas, Rocinante, Plata Villa, and Alema Atelier.

The runway presentation culminated with a performative installation by the Mexican artist Elina Chauvet, titled A Corazón Abierto (translating to mean “open heart”). Inspired by the late artist Pippa Bacca, whose life ended in a tragic, violent incident, Chauvet looked to Bacca’s performance art practice to informa series of embroidered archival Dior dresses in white cotton muslin, which saw Chauvet and a team of artisans embroidering the pieces with poignant red threads, including imagery of anatomical hearts and words of hope and solidarity.