Dior’s creative director reimagines a “better tomorrow” in collaboration with this Ukrainian artist.
Ukrainian artist Olesia Trofymenko’s work served as the background and focal point for the Dior autumn-winter 2022-2023 haute couture show.
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Trofymenko’s backdrop featuring “tree of life” imagery highlighted Dior creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri’s collection.
“Painting and embroidery give an emotional charge to this image that is a symbol for different far-flung cultures and mythologies,” Dior described its haute couture show.
Chiuri invited Trofymenko to create the set design after having seen one of the artist’s pieces that combine painting and embroidery to represent the tree of life. This is a symbol that defines and runs through the entire collection.
Trofymenko’s installation “The Flow” initiates what Dior calls a new dialogue between arts and crafts. “[The installation] resounds like a hymn to life, rebirth, and joy, exalted by the savoir-faire of the Chanakya ateliers.”
“The tree of life connects all forms of creation; it supports the sky and connects it to the earth through its branches and roots. Olesia Trofymenko’s emblem is in line with stylistic codes shared by many lands. Maria Grazia Chiuri contemplates fashion through the filter of art, exploring this territory of tradition(s) that appear both enduring and revolutionary, just like couture,” Dior explained.
Newer Look
A series of pieces that imagine different folkloric customs that inspire all cultures in an “open dialogue” comprise the collection.
Specifically, garments feature embroideries made of cotton and silk threads, as well as yarn. These deploy on cotton fabrics, wool crepe, silk, and cashmere.
Throughout the collection, beige nuances combine with a touch of black and blue.
Patchworks of braids, composed of bronze and black lace and guipure, adorn the dresses. Hand-loomed fabrics also display irregular textures in garments that eliminate all hems.
Meanwhile, silk chiffon is the material of choice to reinterpret Dior’s “New Look” silhouette.
“This is a matter of shaping materials and forms in the space for reflection that the Atelier represents, permeable to the social reality in which we live; a matter of recalling what it means to be human today. Gestures passed on, learned and always perfectible, are repeated. The tree of life is a call, a warning, to make traditions and gestures shine through, allowing us to recover a balance, if only momentarily,” Dior concluded.
Banner Photo by Dior Official via Instagram
