Dior's show took place in the shadow of one of the country’s most famous colonial landmarks: Mumbai’s Gateway of India

This wasn’t Dior’s first-ever show in India. Marc Bohan, who was then Dior’s creative director, staged one here in 1962.

 Edited by| Christian Megan

 Life & Style   section -  CJ journalist

Mumbai - April,2,2023

     Even so, “it’s a huge deal for us,” one Indian member of the audience told me. “Not just because of the Bollywood and Western stars who’ve flown in , but because it’s important for us to see that the world values our craftsmanship. Also, Dior is a brand made for Indian women, who have curves and love femininity.

It’s more than 20 years since a Goldman Sachs economist coined the term BRIC for the cluster of emerging economies he predicted would shortly take over the world. Since then, Brazil, Russia, and China have experienced, to put it mildly, varying peaks and troughs.

Meanwhile, India, the third in the group, now has around 166 billionaires – the third highest ranking after the US and China. You will understand why the super luxury brands are in a hurry to plant flags in Mumbai, where surprisingly few of them have boutiques of any significance.

That may change after Dior’s epic fashion show evening, in the shadow of one of the country’s most famous colonial landmarks: Mumbai’s Gateway of India, an Indo-Islamic arch that was finally completed in 1924 to commemorate a visit from George V more than a decade earlier.

For Maria Grazia Chiuri, Dior’s Italian creative director, India has always been about much more than commerce. Ever since she worked at Fendi in the 1990s, she has understood the value of India’s artisans and integrated their work into her collections, including during her time at Valentino. In 2017, shortly after she joined Dior, the French house began funding Chanakya, a school that teaches the fading skills of embroidery, lace making, appliqué, and block printing to youngsters from disadvantaged backgrounds 

Most luxury brands who use Indian workshops traditionally play the fact down. But in an era that increasingly talks about ethics and “giving back to communities”, Dior is discovering that its school in the heart of Mumbai – and its associated atelier of around 1,000 graduate artisans – isn’t just a source of exquisite appliqués and fine crochet but a priceless jewel in its corporate social responsibility crown.

A largely Indian cast of models threaded their way through pools of marigolds and roses in front of an audience of 900 guests

Tapestries made by local artisans decorated the Gateway to India

More than that, says Chiuri, “is the relationship you develop with each artisan. You get to know who is the best with cashmere or sari silks, what kind of stitching one does, and what their individual taste is like so that you can pair them off with the right project. It’s totally collaborative.”

Brightly colored silks took the form of flowing dresses and unstructured opera coats

This collection, available in the stores now, is vast in its range, from sleeveless “vests” and mini tunics composed of such dense gold embroideries on a mesh backing that the embroidery becomes the main composition, to the plainest (and most beautiful) of draped column dresses in white or black silk jersey.

Chiuri, a designer who normally loves navy, khaki, and taupe, had opened the spice cupboard. Saffron, lime, and mango-colored silk were whipped up into weightless-looking strapless dresses, wrap skirts, and unstructured opera coats, mostly worn with flat shoes. Loose, collarless silk shirts fluttered over slim midiskirts. This was a steeped-in-India glamour, done the effortless, Parisian way.

A midnight-colored Bar Jacket with a Nehru collar appeared alongside Madras checks and plenty of pinks

Pink, the color Diana Vreeland called the navy blue of India, abounded. There was a glimpse of Madras checks. But in truth, the triumph of this collection is that it avoided any sense of fancy dress. A largely Indian cast of models threaded their

The best illustration of this international symbiosis? A midnight-colored Bar Jacket (a descendant of the original horsehair padded, peplum jacket that was part of Christian Dior’s radical New Look in 1947). Classic, oh-so French, but this time with a Nehru collar.

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