Earlier this week, Dior’s Maria Grazia Chiuri transformed the Musée Rodin into an enchanted forest where models stepped through moss in “wearable” couture. After the sensible Bar jackets and evening coats came the dresses in quilted satin or sun, moon, and star embroidery, plus a few particularly lovely gowns in airy pleated tulle. Look 56resembles an inverted rose with layers upon layers of weightless blush petals; here, Chiuri and her team share exclusive photos of the dress in progress, plus the story behind its design.
According to Dior, the dress was made entirely of transparent tulle in varying pale shades, from blush to lavender to ivory. Each layer was individually “sunray pleated” (meaning the pleats are narrower at the top) by three specialists at a pleating atelier. Once the pleats were done, three more Dior team members finished the dress.
The gown we saw on the runway is a testament to Chiuri’s new vision for the house: one that’s romantic, yet modern, and impeccably crafted, yet wearable. But her inspiration for the gown actually harks back to a dress Monsieur Dior designed in 1950; he called it Junon, and you might recall seeing it in last year’s “Manus x Machina” exhibit at the Met. While Chiuri used ethereal tulle, Dior’s petals were ombré gray silk and encrusted with beading. Sixty-seven years later, both look as modern as can be, and you can expect to see Chiuri’s version on a rising star soon enough. Read more about the entire Dior collection in Sarah Mower’s review, here.
