Maria Grazia Chiuri cast a spell on her audience this season. The designer opened the Paris Fashion Week schedule with a dream-like show inspired by dance, held at the iconic Longchamp racetrack in Paris.

Her inspiration for the spring/summer 2019 collection was born out of a chance meeting with acclaimed Israeli choreographer Sharon Eyal, who was the mastermind behind the dance sequences seen in the theatrical show – where models were joined by members of her dance troupe.

“When I first met you back in July I had this idea to make a collection about dance, about freedom,” Grazia Chiuri tells Eyal in an exclusive video on Harper’s BAZAAR UK, shot backstage at the show. “It’s a mix, the collection, between these different inspirations. The collection is about emotion.”

Eyal goes on to add that dance, similarly, is full of layers of emotion – reflected more literally in the layers of tulle seen on the catwalk. “[It’s also about] this idea of fragility,” adds Grazia Chiuri. “The dancers are fragile but strong at the same time.”

Both women, united by their creative visions, agreed that it’s so important to trust your instinct – whether designing clothes or choreographing dancing.

“I made everything by instinct,” says the designer. “If I don’t feel it, I can’t do it.”

Watch the mesmerising dance performance here:

This article originally appeared on Harper’s BAZAAR UK.

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