In Maria Grazia Chiuri’s many collections for Dior, draped and pleated goddess dresses have become a recurring signature so it would only be a matter of time before the artistic director would turn to the source itself. Enter Dior’s Cruise 2022 collection: a sporty and elegant take on Hellenic style through the perspective of a French couture house.
READ MORE: Items Of Interest: The Lady Dior Bag, A Loaded Icon
Besides drawing extensively on the archetypes of ancient Grecian dressing in the form of tunics and chitons, the 91-piece collection also pays homage to the arts and crafts of the land. The abstract figures that adorn a gown, for example, are a tribute to Greek-born artist Giorgio De Chirico who was known for his meta-figurative perspective when it came to mixing light and shadow.
Chiuri also namechecks 20th-century Greek art gallerist Alexandre Iolas who was known for amassing an impressive collection of vases decorated with sparring wrestlers as another inspiration for Cruise 2022. Frequent Dior collaborator, the illustrator Pietro Ruffo, reimagines this athletic motif as giant prints on sweatshirts or as a camouflage pattern on sportswear pieces.
READ MORE: Dior S/S ’22 Show: The French House Transported Us Back To The Marc Bohan Era
To honour the ancestral techniques of Greek artisans, Dior turns to family-run fabric mill Silk Line which is situated in the northern Greek town of Soufli (it’s considered the epicentre of silk production in the country) to create several fabrics for the collection. The result: the dreamiest fabrics such as houndstooth woven from silk and metallic gold yarn that was made using a jacquard loom.
Scroll on for some Grecian drama.
