After 70 years, Dior returns to Athens to present the next Cruise Collection
It is now official: fashion houses can finally go back to organizing events in presence! From the Parisian couture shows that will kick off on 5 July, to Valentino and Saint Laurent who have announced the presentation of a Cruise in Venice, we can now observe how more and more brands are preparing for a gradual return to normality.
Dior has also announced the long-awaited location where it will present the next Cruise
Collection 2022. Next June 17th, Maria Grazia Chiuri and all her staff will fly to Athens to
host an incredible show in the Panathenaic Stadium. The location, besides being famous for having been the setting for the opening and closing ceremonies of the first modern Olympic Games back in 1896, represents for Dior the symbol of a new start.
Hence, the imposing marble monument will be the backdrop to a Cruise Collection that will be hard to forget. Despite a capacity of more than 50,000 people, in order to comply with Covid regulations and to ensure sufficient spacing, the guest list has been restricted to a select elite of buyers, celebrities, clients and journalists.
However, this is not the first time that the French fashion house has chosen Greece to present new collections. In fact, 70 years ago Christian Dior chose the Acropolis to launch his 1951 autumn haute couture collection in a Paris Match article. And it is no coincidence that, seventy years later, Maria Grazia Chiuri has decided to return to such a magical place as a tribute to the great designer who founded the fashion house she now leads.
Moreover, the show will be held to coincide with the country’s 200th anniversary of
independence. And, just as she did last year in Lecce, Chiuri’s aim for this fashion show is to
highlight the history of a place rich of myths and symbolism, through the creativity of local
artists and craftsmen.
In addition to the Panathenaic Stadium, the Greek authorities gave Dior permission to take
further photographs at other key sites such as the Ancient Agora and the Temple of Poseidon. The news has not escaped the controversy of archaeologists and intellectuals who, disagreeing with the authorities’ decision, have called for antiquity to be left in peace.
In fact, before Dior, in 2017 Gucci had previously asked to perform in the Acropolis of Athens, but the members of the central archaeological council had unanimously rejected the request. So far, the government does not seem to have given in to the archaeologists’ demands, thus Dior’s show and photo shoot remain confirmed.
cover image: Dior in Atene for 1951 collection
Words Giustina Ciccariello
