Dior presented its Cruise ‘26 collection in Rome last night, and, um, we’ve seen these blindfolds before.
Creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri’s show was an homage to her birthplace, Rome. Her collection was inspired by the city and its influence in fashion – 1950s dolce vita, Cinecittà films, and 20th century socialite and patron of the arts, Mimi Pecci-Blunt (Chiuri and her daughter Rachele have actually just restored her old theatre, Teatro della Cometa).
The resort show with a couture collection fused into it featured 3D florals, leaf cut-outs, sheer pieces, Art Deco details, and intricate lacings in a palette of dominated by whites, creams and neutrals. Chiuri went all out: channelling the city’s fashion history with trompe l'oeil Roman sculpted dresses, Gladiator golds, Renaissance silhouettes, Vatican-inspired shapes, even ruffles (a subtle nod to her former employer and Rome-native designer Valentino), and commissioning costume house Tirelli to reproduce some of its designs for films, such as Martin Scorsese’s The Age of Innocence.
But, it was the lace blindfolds that caught our attention. They looked interestingly similar to Dior Men’s FW25 (Kim Jones’s final collection for Dior). So, does this mean this might be the last season for Chiuri, too?
Considering strong rumours that Jonathan Anderson is set to take over Dior’s womenswear after this season (he was appointed creative director of menswear at Dior in April), Chiuri might be signalling her swan song by paying homage to her hometown, her legacy, and sending models in lace blindfolds, referencing Kim Jones’s ribbon blindfolds in his final show.
If the rumours are true, and this was Chiuri’s final collection for the house of Dior – she went out with a historic bang.
Featured images Dior©
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