Photo credit: Christian Dior / Youtube
110 looks of Iberian magnificence, mixed with French and Italian design. It is difficult to describe how beautiful are the pieces from the Christian Dior Cruise 2023. But we can try.
But before we talk about the clothes, we need to know what inspired them
The Christian Dior Cruise 2023 was inspired by the culture, traditions, histories, and female heroes of Spain. More specifically, from the south of Spain.
Her main inspiration was Carmen Amaya, the most important Flamenco dancer of her generation. Amaya was born in 1913, Barcelona, in a family of gypsy. Throughout her life, she performed across Europe, United States, and the north of Africa. Also known as ‘La Capitana’, the dancer was notorious for performing moves previously only used by men. She would also frequently wear high waisted pants to showcase her strength in the dance.
The Location and Presentation
Photo by Joan Oger on Unsplash
The collection was presented at Plaza de España, in Sevilla, Spain. The plaza was inaugurated in 1928 for the Ibero-American Exposition of the following year. This beautiful construction is considered as a landmark in Regionalism Architecture. It mixtures architectural elements of the Moorish Revival in Spain, Baroque and Renaissance Revival, and of Spanish styles.
This location worked as a beautiful backdrop for the clothes, as well as for the dance performance that happened before and during the fashion show. There were two flamenco stars wearing black eyeliner and velvet suits in a that we can traditionally see on these kinds of performances, but that also resembled a matador outfit. They were accompanied by 40 dancers dressed a bodysuit + the classic Dior tulle skirt.
Photo credit: Christian Dior / Youtube
Now… The Clothes
Photo credit: Christian Dior / Youtube
The presentation started with a model with a buzz cut wearing black tailored pants, suspenders, and a white tank top. A very androgynous look, except for the black and white manila shawl. The manila shawl is made of silk and is a traditional clothing in Spain and is a prominent part in Flamenco costumes. To this day many Hispanic countries have a variation of this piece as part of their traditional folk clothing. The Portuguese fado shawl also bears a lot of similarities.
The following seven looks featured pants, vests, and jackets with passementerie that resembled a matador attire. In this section we could also see references to the Spanish equestrian schools uniform. Then there was a series of lace pieces, off-the-shoulder tops and dresses, and printed ruffled skirts.
This collection also presented impeccable tailoring pieces, and beautiful leatherwork on dresses and pants. It also had an excellent mixture between commercial pieces, and that beautiful artistic, work of art clothing we expect from Christian Dior.
But we can’t only praise the ateliers of the maison for the impeccable savoir-faire. As is custom with their destination collections, the house of Dior collaborates with local artists and professionals for the creation of some pieces. The hats were made with the direction of Stephen Jones, but it was produced by the atelier Fernandez Y Roche. The Manila shawl (and their cape adaptations) were made by Maria Jose Sanchez Espinar, while this season’s reiteration of the saddle bag is a creation of Javier Menacho Guisado.
Overall, this is the best cruise collection of Christian Dior under the creative direction of Maria Grazia Chiuri. The fit was incredible. The tailoring was impeccable. The clothes are so beautiful, you almost physically drool while seeing the photos, or watching the models walk down the runway. But the crème de la crème was the cropped matador inspired jacket, with the passementerie embroidery. That is what my fashion dreams are made of.
Les Deux Tigres 