Dior Cruise 2024

Happy New Year dear reader! Welcome to 2024. For my first post of the year I'd like to take you forward to the summer and what the fashionable and well-heeled might be wearing as imagined through the eyes of Maria Grazia Chiuri, head designer at the Dior fashion house. It is a vision filled with butterflies. The butterfly motif has been a constant source of inspiration for designers in the fashion industry, and it is fascinating as somebody who works with this motif myself to see what new spin and interpretation each designer/label will bring to the table with each new collection. Examples of the way in the butterfly has been adapted by fashion houses can be found in previous posts here, here, here, here, here, and here. The latest to adapt the butterfly into their Cruise 2024 collection is lead designer at Dior, Maria Grazia Chiuri. The overriding theme is Mexico, and more specifically in line with Chiuri's ethos of recognising, celebrating and empowering women is an homage to revered Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. Kahlo quite famously wore masculine clothes and this collection celebrates that cross-dressing spirit as well as her affection for and promotion of traditional Mexican clothing such as the huipil blouse. The collection has been beautifully captured in a series of highly stylised photographs by renowned snapper Brigitte Niedermair who beautifully translates the vision and spirit of Kahlo's paintings whilst also showcasing the Mexican influence on Chiuri's clothing and accessories. The butterflies on the clothing and accessories have been captured using authentic Mexican artisanal traditions such as embroidery, lace, weaving and metalwork. Chiuri adds something new to the butterfly on designer clothing idea through the dress silhouettes, stunning embroidery work and inventive accessories to produce a collection that is highly covetable. A few days after writing this blog I happened to be walking through Mayfair and came across an amazing display on the façade of London's Dior store (last few pictures below). Reflecting the significance of the Cruise 24 collection it features two huge golden butterflies surrounded by a rabble of smaller ones to reinforce the Mexican/ Cruise-wear theme. It is certainly the most impressive of the festive displays so far this year.