Perhaps as a sign of the fashion industry slowly picking up itself in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, Dior has announced that it will be resurrecting the Cruise 2021 show it had postponed earlier. The news follows the footsteps of other brands like Burberry which have revealed that they will not be giving up the fashion show format completely.

In a video conference with about 600 members of the fashion press last night, the house’s Italian creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri and chairman and chief executive of Christian Dior couture Pietro Beccari, revealed that the showcase will take place on July 22 in the southern Italian region of Puglia.

Lecce in Puglia is regarded as the epicentre of Italian Baroque architecture. Photo: Antonio Maria Fantetti

Originally scheduled for May 27, the Cruise 2021 show will be beamed live from the Piazza del Duomo in the historic Puglia city of Lecce, often regarded as the capital of Italian Baroque architecture. The show will also reflect the new normal that now guides how the industry navigates its way around the fashion show circuit: Dior will make do with the audience, the FROW contingent and the street style circus. Instead, it hopes to put the focus back on the clothes, the craftsmanship, the community that helped built the collection, and the emotional appeal of a fashion show.

Dior taps creatives, musicians, ceramicists and lacemakers for collaborations for its Cruise 2021 collection. Photo: Antonio Maria Fantetti

In a move to support the local economy of Puglia that was affected by months of lockdown in Italy during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, Chiuri, whose father hailed from here, revealed that Dior has tapped creatives, musicians, ceramicists and lacemakers for collaborations. Expect to see some of the region’s trademark designs such as a the tombolo embroidery and the la constantine weave pattern in the looks. Amore.