Dancers Took Over the Dior Runway & It. Is. Everything.
Dance and high-fashion collaborations are always something we get excited about, whether it’s New York City Ballet’s annual Fall Fashion Gala or Sergei Polunin’s campaign with Balmain. The latest dancer-designer dream team comes courtesy of Paris Fashion Week, where Dior creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri and L-E-V co-founder Sharon Eyal joined forces for some serious runway magic.
Chiuri, who is the first woman to head up the iconic fashion house, reached out to Eyal, to create a live performance for nine dancers. The clothes themselves were full of tributes to dance, too, from the neutral and pastel color scheme to soft silhouettes (like long, tulle skirts that were reminiscent of romantic tutus). The collection also featured designs that were directly inspired by trailblazing women in dance like Loïe Fuller, Isadora Duncan and Martha Graham.
“Dance speaks about the body and freedom and fashion speaks about the same things,” Chiuri told The Guardian. Eyal agreed, sharing in a backstage interview with Vogue Germany, “I love fashion, and I think it’s all about the same thing [as dance]: To create a dream.”
Performing to music by Israeli techno musician and DJ Ori Litchik, the dancers moved through a storm of white rose petals in unitards designed by Chiuri inspired by the four elements of nature.
Of course, this isn’t Chiuri’s first foray into the dance world, as she designed costumes for Daniil Simkin’s Guggenheim project, Falls the Shadow, just last fall. So it’s really no surprise she knocked it out of the park (or the Longchamp Racecourse if you want to get technical) for her big spring/summer 2019 collection debut. Fashion designers and choreographers, take note. This is how you bring dance to the runway.
Watch the whole show here: