What is the haute couture in your heart – gorgeous, elegant, exquisite? It seems that no amount of flowery words are enough to interpret it.
But Maria Grazia Chiuri, creative director of Dior womenswear, says its essence in the purest of line language:
"Made for the body."
At 9:45 p.m. Beijing time on January 24, the Dior Spring/Summer 2022 Bespoke Show kicked off at the Rodin Museum in Paris. Since 2013, Dior has held several haute couture launches at this French-romantic gallery.
But unlike the usual fairy-like charm of flowers, this season's high-end show is really "different": the large and large style of rough and original embroidered tapestry decoration covers all the walls of the show, as if by mistake into some wonderful whimsical space.
The live painting originated from a couple of artists from India, Madhvi Parekh and Manu Parekh, who dared to question the old Indian customs and spiritual beliefs, and are one of the most unique voices in the contemporary Indian art world.
This also marks the first time that Chiuri has included male artists as collaborators, in this form to emphasize that gender differences are not opposed to each other, but a complementary, long-term symbiotic existence.
The works of Madhvi Parekh and Manu Parekh were transformed into this 340-square-meter embroidery installation on the runway through the exquisite skills of 380 embroiderers at the Chanakya Workshop in Mumbai, India, forming a clever connection between the roles of the artist, the workshop and the fashion designer.
The new Dior Spring/Summer 2022 collection was also born in the process.
This season, Maria Grazia Chiuri has embroidery as a central element, with low-saturation black-and-white gray tones running through the series of 64 looks.
When the color does not grab the eye, the requirements for the texture of fashion will also become higher, and the ingenious embroidery and tailoring of this series are fully displayed under this background.
The opening geometric pattern tight jumpsuit is not as thin as it looks at first glance, and the rich embroidery on the fabric is not only a decoration on the surface, but also a contour structure that can construct the fashion style, which is also the hallmark of Maria Grazia Chiuri's design of the collection.
The tight jumpsuit set, which is filled with crystal beads, moves with the model's steps, creating a fantastic visual effect in the changing light.
The beauty of the embroidery technique in the series is much more than this, it is also in the service of fashion structure, giving the fabric a rich texture layer to shape the contour of the tights and assisting in the structural changes of the clothing.
The combination of tights and tulle skirts is also very harmonious: the light skirt and the slender ruffled gauze top combine the delicacy of embroidery with the tulle, without the need for too many colors, and the elegant beauty is naturally revealed in the layered and shadowy pleats.
The embroidery technique is both exquisitely decorative and still part of the fashion structure.
In addition to her ingenious and experimental approach, Maria Grazia Chiuri has also prepared a more practical and refined wardrobe of daily suits with high-quality fabrics: a spontaneous black suit embellished with leather materials, a Bar jacket suit that outlines the posture without a sense of restraint, and is a comfortable and handsome.
The evening dress at the end of the runway is more of a beautiful crystal bead decoration, a dress with intricate silk thread beads woven into a shoulder strap, a classic silhouette dress combined with beaded mesh yarn...
As nude textures and skin tones blend, they become increasingly radiant, continuing Maria Grazia Chiuri's same fairy spirit and elegance as ever.
The beauty of embroidery is still evident in this fully embroidered beige skirt and transparent silk eugenia shirt, and the looming embroidery pattern on the fabric seems fleeting, intertwined with the air.
The very bright silver brocade jacquard dress in the series is like a wonderful carrier of light and shade, and the dense and proper folds are accompanied by the rhythm of the body to outline the graceful curves, showing a sculptural skirt silhouette, no girl can refuse such a design, right?
The beaded lace-up shoes on the models' feet this season combine Mary Jane elements with a vintage cat heel to make people shine, adding to the combination of materials such as beads and a variety of combinations.
The treatment of various pleats is also a major attraction: the pleats combined with the embroidery process are rich and romantic, the regular and rhythmic hem of the tulle dress is flexible and interesting, and the pleats cleverly applied to the top explore the balance between functionality and ornamentation, showing exquisite craftsmanship and elegance.
Throughout the series of low-saturation tones, the shiny beaded element is one of the indispensable refreshing agents, from the nude translucent skirt embellished with the whole body to the mesh beaded decoration that exists as the structure of the body, and the delicate crystal beads in the tassel shape of the pants, the collision of multiple materials and elements is a wonderful chemical reaction, contradictory but harmonious.
Unlike the fashionable makeup in the usual haute couture collections, the makeup and hairstyles in Dior's Spring/Summer 2022 haute couture show are quite simple and clean.
Similarly, in terms of accessories, Maria Grazia Chiuri did not create too eye-catching accessories, and if you look closely, you will find that the original models wear very fine and exquisite ear pinna jewelry, although inconspicuous, they can also become a weapon to enhance the texture of the model.
Maria Grazia Chiuri's haute couture is not the same as "gorgeous", it is more like a symbol of constant exploration of innovation, a place of experimentation with endless possibilities.
It represents never-ending innovative experimentation and deep thinking.