Dior channels ancient Greece for Cruise collection

ATHENS-Agence France-Presse

French fashion house Dior will unveil its 2022 Cruise collection on Thursday, the first large show with spectators since the start of the Covid pandemic, at the site of the first modern Olympic Games in Athens.    

Cruise collections fall between usual spring/summer and autumn/winter collections - and French houses often visit other countries for the launch.     

Some 500 guests including international stars were to attend the event which "(blends) the power of heritage and contemporary inventiveness," Dior said.    

The peplos, the robe traditionally worn by women in ancient Greece, is a "key inspiration" for the show, the fashion house said.     

Dior creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri collaborated with several Greek ateliers "combining tailoring and embroidery or jacquards and passementerie."    

The show takes place 70 years after an iconic Dior shoot at the Acropolis.    

"We are very proud to be here," Chiuri told AFP.    

"When I arrived in Dior I found the archive and I said, one day it would be great to realise again this trip in Greece. In some ways, it's an anniversary," she said.    

In addition to the Acropolis, Greek officials have permitted Dior photo shoots at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, the Ancient Agora in Athens, the temple of Poseidon at Sounio and the temple of Zeus at Nemea.  

Chiuri said getting crowds back was a welcome feeling. The last show with spectators, a smaller affair, was in September.    

"We worked a lot with video, film, but it's completely different to have an audience at our fashion show.  It's like a concert," she said.    

Last summer, Dior launched its cruise collection in Piazza del Duomo in Lecce in Italy.