The inside of Monsieur Dior’s garments reveals an extraordinary construction system. The Bar jacket, revisited by the Creative Director for this collection, transforms the structure of the original model into a system that regulates the body’s humidity and warms it up if necessary, thanks to innovative techniques developed in the D-Air lab** laboratories, while a bodysuit – crisscrossed by what appears to be an organic network of colored veins and arteries in luminescent colors – maintains a constant temperature.

The Next Era is also a temporal short-circuit where the iconic Roger Vivier for Dior pump is re-appropriated through the possibilities of embroidery, an example of exceptional craftsmanship enhanced by a technical fabric yoke around the ankle. Pieces that can be worn alone or in combination – such as belts with multiple pockets, or the adjustable laced corset – complete many outfits. Designed to be infinitely versatile, these pieces celebrate a new sartorial order where even the iconic Lady Dior sees itself transformed to accommodate everyday essentials.

The skirts are also reinvented, thanks to fabrics borrowed from the men’s wardrobe – such as grisaille – and are transformed according to the angle from which they are viewed to offer long, short, and pleated cuts. A hybrid collection that opens up unsuspected creativity through the use of embroidery, which adorns technical knitwear, waterproof materials, Nylon and cashmere. And, with a respect tinged with rebellion, the famous portrait of Christian Dior posing in front of the wall hanging that decorated his winter garden is appropriated so the latter is turned into a print that adorns a large coat while couture gloves – redolent of the biker world – climb the arm as a finishing touch to the silhouette.

This collection seeks to express the complexity of fashion that revisits heritage in order to conceive the lines of tomorrow. A journey that shapes the artifacts of a new world, another world, to be made and invented.

* The Next Era, art installation by Mariella Bettineschi.
** D-Air lab is an Italian start-up founded in 2015 by Lino Dainese.
Architect Silvia Dainese Gris is leading this special project for Dior.

Photos: Dior