Dior Fall/Winter 2022 Haute Couture: A Dialogue Between Art and Fashion

The Dior Fall/Winter 2022 Haute Couture collection is made by and for women, with Maria Grazia Chiuri being the first woman to fill the role of Creative Director for Dior. It is also a collection inspired by the work of a female artist. Olesia Trofymenko, the Ukrainian artist whose depictions of the tree of life were the starting point for the drawings, celebrates our deep connections with ancestry, as well as strength and wisdom.

Chiuri invited Trofymenko to design the set of the show as well as the life-size tapestries with hand-embroidered flowers. Each has been carefully handcrafted by the women of Mumbai's Chanakya School of Craft, who have teamed up with Dior for the next season. The tree of life connects all forms of creation. It supports the heavens and connects them through branches and roots with the earth and the subsoil. An image, that of Trofymenko, inscribed in the stylistic features common to the folklore of many territories. It is in that territory of apparently immutable tradition like couture and therefore revolutionary that Chiuri contemplates fashion through the filter of art.

“It is a question of shaping materials and forms in the space of reflection that the atelier represents, permeable to the social reality in which we live; it is about remembering what it means to be human today," declared the Maison. "The gestures handed down, learned and always perfectible, are repeated. The tree of life is a call, a warning, to let traditions and gestures shine through, allowing us to rediscover a balance, even if only momentarily."

Thus was born the folkloristic Dior Fall/Winter 2022 Haute Couture collection, with dresses that were romantic and dreamy, a sort of "sheer couture," apparently ethereal and transparent dresses, with a work of robust tailoring. Neutral colors dominated the color palette, punctuated by occasional touches of black, navy blue, and chartreuse.

Rich embroidery starred at the show, with intricately designed floral motifs appearing on everything from wool crepe to silk and cashmere. Note: a coordinated tartan with hand-sewn details and midi dresses with a Mao collar stand out, reminiscent of those worn to celebrate the Chinese New Year. The silhouette of the new look is reinterpreted in the materials: the structure of the Bar jacket is covered by a vertical smock effect fabric, and the skirt acquires a solid structure thanks to the ribbons that hold it in the upper part, forming a tail. Hand-woven loom fabrics flaunt the precious irregular texture in dresses without a hem. Large trench coats in embroidered silk or cotton protect long dresses.

Tradition, in relation to why and how we dress, has been a prominent theme, with garments that pay sartorial homage to different countries and cultures. The underlying message is that we all belong to a unique world, with diversity and values that must be celebrated in a dialogue without prejudice.