Christian Dior’s Cruise 2021 Collection Honors Italian Heritage

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Dior hosted its Cruise 2021 collection at the Piazza del Duomo in Lecce, Italy. A small town in Puglia, the region holds a special place in the heart of Creative Director Maria Grazia Chiuri–it’s where her father was raised. When Chiuri began to conceive this season’s collection, she began reaching out to local artisans to aid in completing her personal and heartfelt creative vision. The designer’s main focus for the collection was to highlight the province’s native craftsmanship and craftspeople.

Among the designers that opted for in-person runways this summer, there’s been a trend towards more intimate displays. Dior’s 2021 Cruise collection was no exception. Replete with singing and dancing, the spectacle had a limited in-person audience and was broadcast to others remotely. Music was courtesy of a local live orchestra and the dance was choreographed by Sharon Eyal. Italian singer Giuliano Sangiorgi performed a post-show concert for those in attendance.

The designer who brought us the “We Should All Be Feminists” t-shirts, who touted “Sisterhood is Global and Sisterhood is Powerful,” and who questioned “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?” has been on a mission to dispute that inquiry. After working with legendary feminist artist Judy Chicago for Dior’s Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2020 collection, Chiuri continued in her support and collaborations with great female artists. For the Cruise 2021 collection, the designer tapped contemporary feminist artist Marinella Senatore to create the luminarie lining the piazza. Some of the fixture designs were even replicated in the collection’s prints.

Models strutted down the colorfully lit runway, making their way through the dancers, and past the historic Duomo cathedral, clad in fringed skirts, linen jumpsuits, leather corsets, headscarves, and tombolo embroidered dresses, made possible by Marilena Sparacsi. The woven garments throughout the collection were created by the Le Constantine Foundation, which was established by sisters Giulia and Lucia Starace to keep the culturally significant practice of textile construction alive.

To illustrate the importance and value behind one’s culture and craft is a true gift. Chiuri attributes her love of traditional craftsmanship with having watched her grandmother work. “It’s important for the local people to understand the value of their tradition,” Chiuri said. “Probably the most important thing that I understood during these four years at Dior—in Paris they’re so proud about their tradition; fashion is part of their cultural heritage. But we don’t have the same attitude in Italy. Probably it’s because these traditions are made by women at home, so there’s this idea that it’s domestic work. They don’t think it’s creative work. They don’t give it the same value. They don’t celebrate it. With this show I hope to give a different point of view to the local people about that. It’s not only a dialogue with our audience outside, but it’s really a dialogue with the territory.”

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