MataDior

Dior’s fashion show ended, but the real show began in the monumental Plaza de España. Maria Grazia Chiuri wrapped in a cloud of flamenco players and dancers to open the dancing and move that navel of the world sung by Lorenzo Jovanotti himself on stage at the post-show party. Lvmh President Bernard Arnault and his wife moving through the crowd, as well as Elle McPherson, who is still The Body with a fatal beauty even though she is now accompanied by her teenage son, and Chiara Ferragni, Latin blonde with fiery red lips and a carnal flower in her hair recalling the botanical decoration on the bridges leading from the palace to the center. While music by Alberto Iglesias, an award-winning Spanish composer who has collaborated extensively with Pedro Almodóvar, still resonated. This is not surprising. «I thought of women with strong personalities, some of them even inspired by Almodóvar's movies», Maria Grazia Chiuri herself, creative director of Dior's womenswear, told MFF, explaining the new stage of her Cruise 2023 collection, which landed in Seville, Spain. Between flamenco dancers and live players, while on stage dancer and choreographer Blanca Li was at the center of the show.

As the first of 110 looks burst onto the scene. The emblem of this collection is La Capitana, or Carmen Amaya, who brought back the truth of flamenco with her way of performing that did not submit to any canon, the first one to dress like men. Red and black, matadors like Almodóvar's movie and new female bullfighters, mystery and sensuality, lace and velvet, sacred and profane on the very day when Seville celebrates the Corpus Christi procession with a final stop in the Gothic cathedral. The symphony was a mix between pinstripe men's suits, pants worn with suspenders, silk-lined vests and white shirts. There were Andalusian knights' pants with short jackets decorated by frogs. Boleros with trimmings enhancing sharp silhouettes. Sleeves that could open to become capes.

Taffeta fabric was iridescent and crisp under the light, which in red, yellow, ochre and black built exaggerated skirts representing both Dior and Spain. With a passion for precious craftsmanship, but also the transition from Christian Dior's 1956 s-s Bal à Seville haute couture gown to the Plaza de España built for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929, embracing the richness of cultures that have defined this country, representing all of Spain. They were juxtaposed with suggestions evoking the Duchess of Alba, a legendary, out-of-the-box character, remembered when she rode horses with Jackie Kennedy, wearing short jackets, high-waisted pants and wide-brimmed hats laid obliquely on her head. Mantillas made of lace. Clusters of embroidery occupying the robe of the venerated Virgen de la Macarena, in a dramatic crescendo. And the iconic Mantón de Manila, encapsulating all the stories and journeys of the communities that have used it, appropriating it from time to time.

Judgment. «We collaborated a lot with the territory. This Mediterranean journey between Apulia, Greece and Spain is showing a lot of connections». Maria Grazia Chiuri is very precise in her vision. The Cruise Collection respects its itinerant vocation, it becomes a journey with local craft experiments very close to couture, told by a fashion show with Hollywood power and budget. (All rights reserved)