EXCLUSIVE: Dior Will Present its Cruise Collection in Greece

April 23, 2021

RETURN TO THE SOURCE: Greece will be in the international spotlight this year as it marks 200 years of independence — and as the location for Dior’s next cruise show, WWD has learned.

The French fashion house has chosen Athens and scheduled the presentation for June 17, noting it will be done in full compliance with current sanitary measures to stem the spread of the coronavirus. The precise venue and other details are to be communicated later.

The event will also showcase the creativity of local artists and artisans, as Dior has done with other destination resort shows in Lecce, Italy, and Marrakech, Morocco.

A globally minded designer from the get-go, Christian Dior unveiled haute couture designs 70 years ago at the Acropolis during an iconic fashion shoot for Paris Match. Photographer Jean-Pierre Pedrazzini trained his lens on a group of models in gowns from the fall 1951 collection, which debuted Dior’s “Longue” line.

“Greece is a country that has always been close to my heart,” said Maria Grazia Chiuri, Dior’s artistic director of women’s haute couture, ready-to-wear and accessory collections. “As a native of Rome, to me it is an essential and highly inspiring cradle of culture, literature and creation in all its forms. From mythology to the ‘Odyssey,’ and from architecture and philosophy to priceless crafts, Athens for me represents a dream destination for staging a show and celebrating, more than ever, the magic and transmission of cultures.

“It is a great honor to be able to make this dream come true on June 17, in the heart of a capital of such prodigious beauty and through a wide range of artistic exchanges, from dance to drawing, and the ancestral skills that so fascinate me, which I will have the joy and privilege of showcasing in my collection,” she added.

While some designers and brands continue to unveil fall 2021 collections, the cruise 2022 season is kicking off May 4 with Chanel’s presentation in the picturesque village of Les Baux-de-Provence in the south of France.