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PARIS, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Italian designer Maria Grazia Chiuri unveiled a fairytale-like debut haute couture collection for French fashion house Christian Dior on Monday, presenting flowing flowery dresses, capes and plenty of intricate craftsmanship.
Dior's first woman artistic director, who previously spent some 17 years at Valentino, took inspiration from mazes for the line on the second day of fashion shows at Paris' Haute Couture spring/summer 2017 week.
Amid a lush garden setting at the French capital's Musee Rodin, models opened the show in Dior's signature Bar jackets in black, re-invented into capes with hoods and worn with lace tops, pleated skirts and wide-leg ankle-length culotte trousers.
The looks were accessorised with black see-through masks, sometimes formed as butterflies as well as feather headdresses.
Chiuri also presented a selection of white dresses before moving onto dream-like frocks in pink, mauve, grey and blue for the evening.
Flower embroidery adorned the tulle and organza dresses, some of them strapless, others with spaghetti straps, as did a variety of tarot symbols as well as stars. The princess-style gowns came in ruffled layered styles or with lace decorations.
Models wore necklaces with butterflies or flowers. Flowers adorned headdresses for the romantic look. There was also a selection of dark velvet and metallic coloured evening gowns.
"This voyage is guided by a desire for beauty, where losing oneself is a necessary step to challenging oneself and evolving," show notes read. "And so, for the finale, Maria Grazia Chiuri imagine a splendid ball straight out of a fairytale."
At her debut ready-to-wear line for Dior in September, Chiuri showcased an eclectic collection, mixing "sport couture", street style and fairytales, for the brand looking to appeal to young fashionistas.
A selection of luxury labels, including Chanel, Giorgio Armani Prive and Valentino are showing their expensive creations at Paris Haute Couture Week, which runs until Thursday.
(Reporting By Johnny Cotton; additional reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian) ((Marie-Louise.Gumuchian@thomsonreuters.com; +44 207 542 2290; Reuters Messaging: marie-louise.gumuchian.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
Dior's first woman artistic director, who previously spent some 17 years at Valentino, took inspiration from mazes for the line on the second day of fashion shows at Paris' Haute Couture spring/summer 2017 week.
Amid a lush garden setting at the French capital's Musee Rodin, models opened the show in Dior's signature Bar jackets in black, re-invented into capes with hoods and worn with lace tops, pleated skirts and wide-leg ankle-length culotte trousers.
The looks were accessorised with black see-through masks, sometimes formed as butterflies as well as feather headdresses.
Chiuri also presented a selection of white dresses before moving onto dream-like frocks in pink, mauve, grey and blue for the evening.
Flower embroidery adorned the tulle and organza dresses, some of them strapless, others with spaghetti straps, as did a variety of tarot symbols as well as stars. The princess-style gowns came in ruffled layered styles or with lace decorations.
Models wore necklaces with butterflies or flowers. Flowers adorned headdresses for the romantic look. There was also a selection of dark velvet and metallic coloured evening gowns.
"This voyage is guided by a desire for beauty, where losing oneself is a necessary step to challenging oneself and evolving," show notes read. "And so, for the finale, Maria Grazia Chiuri imagine a splendid ball straight out of a fairytale."
At her debut ready-to-wear line for Dior in September, Chiuri showcased an eclectic collection, mixing "sport couture", street style and fairytales, for the brand looking to appeal to young fashionistas.
A selection of luxury labels, including Chanel, Giorgio Armani Prive and Valentino are showing their expensive creations at Paris Haute Couture Week, which runs until Thursday.
(Reporting By Johnny Cotton; additional reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian) ((Marie-Louise.Gumuchian@thomsonreuters.com; +44 207 542 2290; Reuters Messaging: marie-louise.gumuchian.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
