Dior presented Maria Grazia Chiuri's Spring/Summer 2024 Haute Couture collection show on January 22nd (local time).

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The installation "Big Aura," created by artist Isabella Duclos, decorated the wall of the venue located in the gardens of the Rodin Museum, where Dior's Haute Couture collection was presented. The set design for the Dior Spring/Summer 2024 Haute Couture show features 23 oversized dresses, some five metres high, arranged on panels of irregular black stripes reminiscent of warp and weft threads. These dresses evoke the attire worn by the Ottoman sultans, a subject of Isabella Duclos' research, and are an abstract embodiment of clothing as a symbol of power that transcends the physical body.

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For Maria Grazia Chiuri, the "Big Aura" pervades haute couture, an eternally fertile ground for the idea that no reproduction of an original will ever be the same. In haute couture, each garment is meant to be adapted to the wearer's body and possesses a unique aura. "Aura," as both Maria Grazia Chiuri and Isabella Duclos refer to it in different ways, reflects the uniqueness and authenticity of a work of art, as defined by Walter Benjamin1—its imprint on the collective memory.

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For this collection, Maria Grazia Chiuri has chosen to trace this "aura" through the history of the Maison's haute couture, a style that embodies the essence of fashion and the ultimate in excellence. Designed by Christian Dior for his Fall/Winter 1952 Haute Couture collection, "La Cigale" dress, with its sculptural cuts and moire fabric, evoked the sanctity of the atelier and became the starting point for a theory that redefined the notion of couture. The line between art and life is fragile.

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Moiré 2 "blooms like waves beyond winter," featuring a striking color palette of gold, white, gray, burgundy, and green that highlights the fabric's iridescence "through the fabric and its sculptural texture." 3 This effect is reflected in pieces that echo the geometric lines of La Cigale: coats with distinctive collars, wide skirts with exaggerated cutouts, overlapping layers, pants, and jackets, evoking architectural elegance. Silhouettes revisit details from Dior's archive dresses, reinterpreting them for a contemporary look. Additionally, trench-colored cotton and silk create a captivating, innovative yet classic effect.

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A flowing black velvet dress completes the look, while a glamorous feather cape is paired with an embroidered double organza dress. The embroidery sparks the imagination like unearthed fragments of ancient poetry. Millefiori motifs accentuate the entire surface of a yellow moiré dress, while long fringes sway to the rhythm of footsteps, evoking the colorful diversity of nature.

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In this collection, Maria Grazia Chiuri evokes the aura dimension of haute couture through the chromatic and architectural presence of the materials, the elements that shape the silhouettes. It is a powerful experience that is both contemplative and performative, expressing the evolving spirit of the imagination.

Courtesy of DIOR
Courtesy of DIOR
Courtesy of DIOR
Courtesy of DIOR


1. Walter Benjamin, "The Art of Reproduction" (1939).
2. A finish applied to fabrics by the calendaring process, giving them a wavy texture.
3. The two sentences in " " are taken from "Dior By Christian Dior" (Assouline, 2016), a book that explores the role of moiré and, in particular, "La Cigale," an haute couture silhouette designed by Christian Dior in 1952.