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3 things to remember from the fall-winter 2021-2022 Dior show at the Château de Versailles
In a dark, haunting Château de Versailles, Maria Grazia Chiuri unveils her Dior fall-winter 2021-2022 collection inspired by fairy tales, from the Tin Soldier’s uniform and Little Red Riding Hood’s cape to a plenty of princess dresses. Discover 3 things to remember from the show.
1. A collection inspired by fairy tales
After her spring-summer 2021 haute couture collection inspired by the Tarot de Marseille, Maria Grazia Chiuri explores the mythology of fairy tales at Dior. Those wonderful stories told to children to instil morals and life lessons while stimulating the imagination through symbols and archetypes. Far from the watered-down Disney versions, fairy tales are often dramatic stories with a tragic ending. A dark, eerie ambiance hangs over Maria Grazia Chiuri’s fall-winter 2021-2022 show where a blue cashmere coat, enhanced with red and white, evokes Hans Christian Andersen’s Tin Soldier, red hooded coats recall Charles Perrault’s Little Red Riding Hood, tartan fabrics and roses tell the story of Beauty and the Beast, misty dresses belong to princesses, while silhouettes adorned with white collars, broderie anglaise plastrons and white socks all naturally recall the world of childhood.
2. A performance by Sharon Eyal
First invited by Maria Grazia Chiuri to accompany the Dior spring-summer 2019 show, whose theme was dance, the Israeli choreographer Sharon Eyal delivers a new hypnotic performance this season. The name of the collection, “Disturbing beauty”, parallels the choreographer’s style, which redefines standards of grace and elegance with bodies twisting with angular, jerky movements. Sharon Eyal and her dancers embody nocturnal beings who come to life after dark and whose dance, illuminated by the pale glow of the moon, has an air of ritual magic about it.
3. A dark and eerie Château de Versailles
While French museums and cultural sites remain closed, Dior’s runway show took place at the Château de Versailles, a venue chosen not only for its close relationship with culture, but also because its salons welcomed female writers as they read their tales of fairy happenings and proto-feminist fables that inspired the collection. The famous Hall of Mirrors, instantly recognisable by its baroque style, dazzling decoration and vast mirrors, is transformed into the “Hall of Shadows” with the opaque mirrors swathed in decorative brambles by the Italian artist Silvia Giambron.
