Over the weekend in Mexico City, maison Dior’s Cruise 2024 collection was seen for the first time by an audience of names like Alicia Keys, Emma Raducanu, Yalitza Aparicio, Amira Casar, and Lorena Vergani, emerging from the stone arches and stacked walkways of the former Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso—a college once attended by artists like Diego Riviera and Frida Kahlo. The extravagant architecture was no coincidence, purposefully chosen to highlight beautifully-made garments that found inspiration in the vibrance of Mexican culture and Kahlo’s iconic presence and lasting impact on art, feminism, and fashion.
Photo © Ximena del Valle, courtesy of Dior.
Photo © Adrien Dirand, courtesy of Dior.
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.
Courtesy of Dior.
Courtesy of Dior.
The show concluded with a performance installation by Mexican artist Elina Chauvet, entitled A Corazón Abierto (meaning “open heart”). Inspired by the artist Pippa Bacca, who tragically passed away, Chauvet drew on Bacca’s performance art practice to create a series of archival Dior dresses embroidered in white cotton muslin. Chauvet and a team of artisans embroidered these pieces with emotionally charged red threads, depicting anatomical hearts and messages of hope and solidarity.
Courtesy of Dior.
Courtesy of Dior.
Courtesy of Dior.
