India's Toile De Jouy: Inside Dior's Triumph In Mumbai

While the gateway of India was built for the arrival of King-Emperor George V, his majesty never made it to the subcontinent. But in 2023, Dior, one of the houses considered fashion royalty, finally arrived in this land of plenty, unveiling a magnificent fall runway collection.

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As guests walked around the open space with a million blooms lining the sides of the cobblestone runway, the scented air around this fabled country was palpable with anticipation of what was to follow. An all-black start to the show was a welcome homage to the traditional kurta and pants in silk and the softest linens, with embroidered hems and touches of metallic threads. Simple slippers shod the mostly local Indian models, made up with a modern rendition of a flapper look with pin-tucked curled hair and kohl-rimmed eyes; and necks, elegantly wrapped in strands of freshwater pearls reminiscent of the Art Deco period.

The runway looks segued into more elaborate garms, all richly embroidered and embellished by the skilled artisans of the Chanakya School of Craft, an artisanal atelier Maria Grazia Chiuri has been working with for decades. Reflecting the hues of flowers, spice rich tones of saffron, magenta, fuchsia and emeralds in resplendent silks and linens lit the runway. Tie-dye denims brought modernity to the looks, while signature Dior bags such as the Book Tote came puffed and padded like poori in patchwork. And just as the colours morphed into rich blues and deep purples, a return to sombre blacks punctuated with fine beadwork brought evening wear to the fore—with four pure white outfits serving as palette cleansers before an exquisite denouement of one-shoulder black gowns and sparkling silvers.

Motifs of flora and fauna and paisley bedecked simple tunic shirts and cropped cigarette trousers, some richly studded with beads and sequins in an all-matching tone-on-tone combo. All in all, Dior Fall ’23 was a perfect marriage of fresh simplicity, craftwork and femininity—a fitting homage to the Land of Mysteries, women and the beauty of fashion from West to East.

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Dior’s Chiuri wanted to connect the audience with India emotionally and culturally. She also wanted to expand on the significant collaboration and friendship with Karishma Swali, who directs the Chanakya ateliers and the Chanakya School of Craft in Mumbai. Chanakya is a place of exchange, study, and emancipation for many women. It is also a laboratory to explore different types of savoir-faire that Chiuri has long celebrated, while highlighting the visionary spirit of the founding couturier. To further the quest, Chiuri turned to the archives created by Marc Bohan, the then artistic director of Dior, who had travelled to India in April 1962, and initiated conversation and collaborations between France and India. For Bohan, these presentations were significant events that heralded a departure from his artistic direction, where he had to contend with younger customers with a more dynamic, contemporary approach to fashion and ready-to-wear.

For the show, Chiuri shared colour palettes and materials that crystallise key influences with Swali. The creative director of Dior Women’s Collections worked on classic clothing that have stayed intact through time, allowing her to (re)design her favourite models. A colour block sequence dedicated to silks—in shades of green, yellow, pink and purple—is a tribute to Bohan. Think sophisticated evening coats, sari-inspired straight skirts and traditional Indian cuts, as well as pants, boleros, jackets and tops.

Geometric shapes framed in gold, with silver sequins and strass; bewitching decorative motifs in a kaleidoscope of colours on silk pyjamas, blouses and dresses. The revisited Toile de Jouy contains elements of Indian landscapes populated by talismanic animals, underscoring the expression of a shared territory between Dior and Chanakya, and confirming the unfailing bond between France and India

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Pursuing her construction of passionate dialogues with the world’s cultures, Maria Grazia Chiuri’s Dior Fall ’23 show in Mumbai is a series of unprecedented looks in tribute to Indian textile traditions. This artistic exchange, based on sharing and learning in order to highlight the plurality of ancestral artisanship, transcends borders and time. It is a respect of the past, an exchange of the present and the promise of a future. That, in a word, is Dior.