THE anthropologist Clifford Geertz believed mankind was suspended in webs of significance which we ourselves had spun; these webs were culture. For Dior’s 2020 Cruise Collection, Maria Grazia Chiuri developed her own cultural dialogue by working with House of Dior, artists and artisans, to create a collection hand-spun in Africa.
The designs reinterpreted two of the House’s signature motifs: toile de Jouy and tarot cards, using 100 per cent African Wax in collaboration with the company Uniwax in Ivory Coast, and anthropologist Anne Grosfilley, world renowned specialist in wax.
Ready-to-wear from Dior’s 2020 Cruise Collection
Presented in Marrakesh – positioned at the crossroads of Europe and Africa – this collection is a world map connecting images and ambiances that, on this side of the Mediterranean, have shaped our visual culture. One cultural encounter with Sumano showcases the association’s work in preserving the ancestral savoir-faire of Morocco’s women weavers and pottery makers. Décor embellished with ceramic pottery punctuated the exceptional architecture of the El Badi Palace, the show’s sumptuous setting.
Scenography from Dior’s 2020 Cruise Collection, El Badi Palace, Marrakesh
Through its cultural dialogue, the Cruise Collection offers a condensation of diverse realities and temporalities. Fashion itself is a unique fabric inspired by countless places and times, and with the Dior Cruise collection 2020, Maria Grazia Chiuri projects her take on collective memory; a new web of significance to be spun within.
by Alicia Pountney