Dior Pre-Fall 2023 Show in Mumbai, India｜Celebrating friendship with India and its heritage of traditional embroidery
On March 30, Dior presented its Pre-Fall 2023 collection beside the Gateway of India landmark in Mumbai. The Gateway of India is a huge symbol of Mumbai built to commemorate the landing of King-Emperor George V, the first British monarch to visit India Mumbai in 1911. That night, the 46-ft “Toran,” a site-specific artwork just below the Gateway itself, featuring traditional Indian motifs such as flowers and animals, was installed by Dior.
This is the first time a European luxury house has held a fashion show in Mumbai, and the collection reflects the brand’s creative director, Maria Grazia Chiuri’s personal feelings towards India.
Chiuri is known for her longstanding good friendship with India and its people, and she wanted to express the relationship which she has nurtured with India and her friendship with Karishma Swali, director of the Chanakya ateliers and Chanakya School of Craft in Mumbai through this collection. As such, the collection was produced in collaboration with Swali and featured a number of looks that incorporated traditional Indian crafts and embroidery.
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The luxury market in India is growing rapidly, and the brand was well-positioned to take the show to Mumbai, as it is a market with great potential for further growth. However, Chiuri’s driving force was not a business factor, but rather to perpetuate the Indian artistry and creativity.
“Karishma and I met more than 25 years ago and wanted to explore and we have been doing that over the years, but really did that with this collection. Fashion sometimes is more concentrated on other elements, the shape, the color — less about textile, embroidery, thinking that is not so central. But it can be the driving force as well,” Chiuri said.
Chairman and chief executive officer of Christian Dior Couture Delphine Arnault said that the choice of this destination is deeply linked to the brand’s shared history and passions.
“Our unwavering affinity with India, woven from the very beginnings of the house in 1947, and through the shows of Monsieur Dior’s various successors – from Marc Bohan to Maria Grazia Chiuri – has constantly been deployed in numerous creative dialogues combining innovation and ancestral heritage.”
The show presented a total of 99 styles, and the designs were sprinkled throughout with colors, motifs, mirror work, sequins, crafts, and other tastes related to Indian culture. Each detail was infused with the traditional Indian craftsmanship that Chiuri loves. The silhouettes included evening coats, silk dresses, and sari-like draped skirts and gowns inspired by traditional Indian ethnic wear with prints and embroidery depicting sacred Indian animals, Indian flowers, plants, and landscapes in vivid and lively colors. The models for the show were also carefully selected and 56 of the 99 models were Indian models, while the remaining 43 were international models.
The color palette began with black, followed by beige, white, and gold. Toward the midpoint of the collection, vibrant colors such as green, yellow, pink, and purple were added as a tribute to Marc Bohan, then Creative Director at Dior. Among them, there were shades such as Rani pink (a shade of pink) and Jamni (a shade of purple), which were inspired by the festival of Holi and are popular in India for both men and women.
On that night, many celebrities from all over the world gathered in Mumbai to celebrate this memorable collection. Many Hollywood stars such as Cara Delevingne, Yara Shahidi, Freida Pinto, Maisie Williams, Simone Ashley, and Bollywood stars Sonam Ahuja Kapoor, Anushka Sharma and her husband Virat Kohli, a known cricketer, and sitar player Anushka Shankar participated.
The implementation of the first-ever large-scale show in Mumbai was a new historical moment for India and the brand. Through this wonderful relationship with India and Swali, Chiuri would continue to draw on Indian culture and craftsmanship in her own inspirations and creations.