Courtesy of Dior/Ria Mart-Dior Cruise 2022 via Vogue.it

Dior Cruise 2022: The Greek heritage, the urban twist and the contemporary myth

When an event starts under a good star, the outcome is almost certainty a success.
In this case, Athens, the lucky location of Dior Cruise 2022, was undoubtedly a breathtaking catwalk of mind-blowing characters, all gathered under the most gushing starry night.
The premises for this season?

Before taking chances on old history memories, the collection seems to be only apparently a complex machine: plisset, pied-ed-pouple, peplum and sneakers.. how could they all possibly live harmoniously together?

To answer this dramatic question, Maria Grazia Chiuri elaborated, as her inclinations gladly proved before, a new project able to carry the story of its realization between its garment folds.

According to the creative director of the French maison, the idea for the collection reached the team about five years ago, by looking at some inspiring works by Jean-Pierre Pedrazzini. The photographer, at that time, was creating a unique reportage of the Acropolis of Athes back in 1951. The photoshoot was originally destinated to the first restyled number of Paris Match, but the idea of depicting a portray of timeless wearables was most likely in the air.

Greece has been, and still, is one the most attractive site for holidays: let’s think about the double bond of white and light blue present in Santorini or the Cyclades lively atmosphere; and for the most past affectionate, of course, the archeological sites around the country’s major cities.

A land of interests and strongly connected to mythos: one concrete example could behold behind the Dior representation, dressy speaking, of the transfiguration of Leda. According to the Greek myth, Zeus, the master of Gods, in order to hide the woman from his wife’s jealousy impetuous, transformed the human-being into a swan. Continuing on this path, the echoes of mythology were surrounded by the remarkable architecture, including the Erechtheion with the Caryatids designed and built by Mnesicles and the Panthenon, the symbol of Athens completed in 438 BC.

As Chiuri explained, the image in our mind of Greece may not correspond to the actual immensity of magnificence both in terms of knowledge and beauty. Research and critical spirit are essential parts of evaluation.

In this case, the evaluation of differences, both in traditions and past narrations, sees its concrete realization through identity achievements: just as a remind of how personality is continuously and resolutely fighting against the dull and the spiritless convention.

Live from the Kallimarmaron Panathinaiko stadium, the memory of Greece was been turned on, at its maximum power, for one astonishing evening.

Out of history books, Up in the new era.

The project, as Chiuri defined itself, it’s a synopsis of an antithetic thesis. An elaborate concept to sum up innovation, modernity and incitement.

At a remarkable historical moment of Greece, in fact the first female president Katerina Sakellaropoulou has been elected, the runaway is the against any stereotype.

With 91 new outfits, from casual to formal, the new Cruise collection was accompanied by Ioanna Gika’s high notes. Among the dresses, the prints on them are clearly referring to the Erechtheion; they have been elaborated according to local artisans, including the well-know weaver Aristides Tzonevraki. About the cuts, the most representative vestments were: bar jacket (made famous by Mounsier Christian Dior back in 1947), peplum dresses, taiullers in light nuances; these, in particular, are a pledge to Mrs. Marlene Dietrich together with the Leda-swan dress worn by the actress during a social event.

Among the accessories, sneakers- even under the peplum- leggings, and sporty gadgets.

The message is always the same: even if women are wearing a dress, they still remain in charge of their destinies; the outfits, on one hand, depict a solid twist to the artist Giorgio De Chirico and they are a direct gage to Alexander Iolas, fervid Greek art collector. On the other hand, Dior, for the Cruise season, aims at a re-codification of Athens glorious past, together with a tangible promise of affectionate consideration.

As in the Arachne’s myth, the craftsmanship is widely reproduced on the garments among dresses, top, jackets and skirts. To end up the cycle of beauty and in an attempt to serve, maybe, for the next Cruise generation, at the beginning of the day after the show, 20 photographers, all women, where shooting new pictures to help with the process of modernization of the maison archives connected to the Acropolis and Panthenon.

Fanny Trivigno

Sources:
style.corriere.it/moda/sfilate/dior-sfilata-dior-moda-dior-atene-fashion-week-cruise-2022/
www.vogue.it/moda/article/dior-cruise-2022-tutti-look-sfilata-atene-foto%3famp