Fashion
Dior haute couture AW21: 11 looks we’re quite obsessed with from the runway
The 'haute' in haute coutureDior made a return to the haute couture runway on day one of Haute Couture Week for the autumn/winter 2021 season. And in some ways, it was quite a triumphant return.
For starters, the show set was in itself a stunning piece of artwork. The inside walls of the entire runway space (held at Paris’s Musée Rodin) were completely covered by a 340-meter-long work by French artist Eva Jospin. Titled ‘Chambre de Soie’ — or directly translated as ‘silk room’ — the embroidered masterpiece signalled a new medium for Jospin who’s known more for her elaborate wall installations and artworks made of largely cardboard.
The multicoloured piece recalled that of the Sala dei Ricami in Rome’s Palazzo Colonna, and was realised with the help and embroidery skills of students of the Chanakya School of Craft in Mumbai, India — a non-profit organisation that was also previously involved in creating the set for Dior’s haute couture spring/summer 2020 runway set.
It was, by far, creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri’s most confident haute couture outing, with pieces that truly exemplified Dior’s unquestionable couture artisanship. Embroidery took centrestage with many different techniques and applications involved throughout the Dior haute couture autumn/winter 2021 collection.
The aim was to elevate the artistry beyond just mere ornamentation; embroidery was used as means of connecting to one’s senses of touch and sight. That after a period of isolation and social distancing, the yearn to once again freely connect physically is translated to a collection that’s at once tactile and beautiful all the same.
And perhaps that’s the very reason why this was Chiuri’s most outstanding haute couture collection yet for Dior — it looked cohesive and felt personal, with an emotional connection that everyone can relate to.
Scroll the topmost gallery for a complete look at Dior haute couture autumn/winter 2021.
