Simply Abu Dhabi XXVIII

1 2 0 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I DIOR In the Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve in Calabasas, California – a vast open nature reserve spanning nearly 3,000 acres – Dior presented its 2018 Cruise collection. For her first midseason collection, Maria Grazia Chiuri, Dior women’s collections artistic director, took inspiration from the Lascaux collection presented by Christian Dior in 1951. Chiuri was directly influenced by the ancient cave paintings found in Lascaux in southern France, in which nature and animals such as deer, horses and oxen take us back to the infancy of humankind and art. Her strong designs reflect upon femininity and its links with the Earth. Dior’s key style elements, such as the Bar Jacket or the New Look, were in the collection; however, more than ever, there was a shamanic allure in the show. Chiuri has also taken inspiration from the Georgia O’Keeffe Living Modern exhibition she encountered at the Brooklyn Museum, and from her collaboration with Vicki Noble, creator of the Motherpeace feminist tarot deck. In particular, this collaboration is evidenced in T-shirts ad leathers with Noble’s tarot style prints. This collection embraces and explores Dior’s heritage through the eyes of an archaeologist. Dior’s Cruise 2018 must-have accessories in the show were definitely Stephen Jones’s parson’s hats featuring Lascaux printing: a glamourous nod to cowboy style and native American Indian imagery. Also outstanding were the silk gold jacquards with Lascaux prints boasting sequined embroidery in earthy shades. Chiuri has succeeded in reinterpreting primitive inspirations with her own contemporary and women-empowering style.