What Inspires Dior's Artistic Director Maria Grazia Chiuri For Dior Cruise 2019?

The Mexican escaramuza are known as women of power who don’t renounce their femininity. Taking inspiration from these equestrian women, Dior’s Artistic Director Maria Grazia Chiuri launched the Dior Cruise 2019 collection with her own interpretations of these fierce yet elegant female riders. As the models strutted down the runway at the Great Stables of the Domaine de Chantilly in France, the legendary maison left the world enamoured by its exquisite details.

Rustic yet modern, the Dior Cruise 2019 collection blends traditional elements with dashes of galloping freedom along the way. For example, dresses made of cotton lace adorned the models combined with tiny wooden beads that paid homage to the Escaramuza riders who are known to only wear garments of cotton or linen, exuding ethereal and elegant looks.

Not only that, Dior’s Cruise 2019 collection also interprets freedom in its airy yet extravagant skirts worn with high belts over fitted jackets. This collection also introduces a series of wild animal prints, such as the tigers or serpents found in the classic French Toile de Jouy that comes as a trench coat, shorts, and a leather jacket, among others. Meanwhile, the accessories also play a significant part, like the Lady Dior revamped handbag with blue Toile de Jouy motif with tiger print.

Famed for horses and lace, Chantilly was a fresh choice to host the Dior Cruise 2019 show. With elements of the collection woven into the set itself, the venue boasted intricate fabrics and details invitees could treat themselves to. Not stopping there, Chiuri also brought eight female Mexican rodeo riders who galloped in front of an A-list audience clad from head to toe in glamorous Dior while performing their manoeuvres for the opening show.

It’s clear that from her reign at Dior since 2016, Maria Grazia Chiuri has sought a more powerful female presence in a male-dominated industry. The Cruise 2019 collection showed myriad female representations from Amazonians to characters from The House of the Spirits by Chilean author Isabel Allende. However, among them, the Escaramuza stood out from the rest—the women on the front line of the rodeo stood tall and dignified while the models walked down the runway. It was truly incredible how they could do it without renouncing their femininity, perhaps just as Chiuri intended.

See Also: Exclusive Photos: Dior's Cruise Collection 2019 Launch