Dior teams up with Grace Wales Bonner for its latest Cruise show

With May just on our doorstep, the Cruise shows are now here. First up, Maria Grazia Chiuri started this season’s tour in Marrakech. For Dior’s latest Cruise show, the designer staged her 2020 presentation in El Badi Palace, with models walking around a giant pool which was lit by floating candles and torches.

Focussing on artisans, Chiuri enlisted a number of collaborators to help bring their own vision to the collection. London-based designer Grace Wales Bonner and artist Mickalene Thomas were both invited to reimagine the signature Bar jacket and New Look skirt. Wales Bonner’s appeared on model Hiandra Martinez, with crochet-like stitching appearing at the sleeves. Her skirt used the same technique but was also embroidered with flowers. 

Elsewhere, South African designer and Nelson Mandela’s shirtmaker Pathé’O designed a tribute to the political leader and philanthropist, while Stephen Jones worked with Martine Henry and Daniella Osemadewa on the head wraps some of the models wore. 

“In this moment, there’s a lot of focus on cultural appropriation, but I think we have to explain how craftsmanship travels around the world; why it’s often so difficult to find the ‘real’ reference,” the designer told Vogue. Her idea of mixing heritages and references was contextualised in the show’s release with a quote by Moroccan writer Tahar Ben Jelloun. “Culture teaches us to live together, teaches us that we’re not alone in the world, that other people have different traditions and ways of living that are just as valid as our own,” it read. 

Following Dior’s Cruise collection, Prada, Chanel, and Gucci will all present theirs in New York, Paris, and Rome respectively.