More than fashion: Dior’s latest show in Mumbai highlights the importance of Indian handicrafts

The last Dior show on Thursday paid tribute to the importance of Indian craftsmanship in the world of fashion. Not only did the French firm choose Bombay as the setting for the event, but its collection was closely linked to the country.

once again, Maria Grazia Chiuri, Christian Dior Creative Director, decided to work with Chanakya, a workshop and craft school dedicated to teaching the art of embroidery to women in India. The creation of this school for women was largely driven by Maria Grazia and her feminist vision of the world of fashion, where the art of embroidery was previously reserved for men.

In an effort to provide opportunities for women (in India, master craftsmen are traditionally men), Chiuri and Karisma Swali, director of Chanakya, founded the Chanakya School of Crafts in 2016. Since then, the school has been teaching embroidery techniques to girls. Empowerment through skill acquisition and financial independence, in India and across the world.

“I’ve always wanted to bring fashion and creativity to the place where handicrafts exist,” Maria Grazia Chiuri announced a few days ago in the press in Bombay. Vogue. “Here we are.”

The school’s collaboration can be appreciated in this new Dior collection How do you know A variety of pieces inspired by Hindu culture as in other collections.

“Craftsmanship is our ancestral legacy,” he declared Vogue Director of Chanakya. “What my generation brings to these ancient techniques is a modern savoir-faire. This ensures the longevity of the craft.”

Directed by John Galliano House For fifteen years (from 1996 to 2011), he was already inspired by luxurious Raj-style jewelry for his spring-summer 1998 collection, while his predecessor, Gianfranco Ferre, was Dior’s creative director from 1989 to 1996. to India. The Maison’s archives also reveal that another of the famous designers who worked for the company, Marc Bohan, traveled to India in 1962 to launch a hundred silhouettes in Bombay and Delhi.