Maria Grazia Chiuri has taken Dior on flights both imaginative and physical during her tenure as womenswear creative director of the Parisian house; the Italian designer’s inspirations have spanned 16th-century monarchs, Greek mythology, and the female Surrealists of the 1930s, while shows have been held around the world, from Seville to Marrakech, Athens to Los Angeles.
The latest stop on Chiuri’s grand tour is Mumbai, India, where the designer hosted the house’s Fall 2023 collection on March 30, 2023 at the city’s historic Gateway of India monument. An homage, in part, to Marc Bohan – former Dior creative director who hosted a show in 1962 in the country – it also celebrated the virtuosic craft of Mumbai’s Chanakya atelier and non-profit School of Craft, best known for its hand-embroidery which here adorned the richly embellished collection. Chanakya also contributed to the show’s dramatic set: an eight-metres-high work inspired by the Indian toran, a decorative fabric door hanging traditionally created by women to welcome guests into their homes (the monumental piece was created by 300 artisans in over 35,000 hours of work, featuring a variety of embroidery techniques and decorative motifs).
