In a harmonious blend of tradition and innovation, designer Maria Grazia Chiuri unveiled Dior’s Fall 2025 collection in the serene gardens of Toji Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site founded in the 8th century. Set in Kyoto—Japan’s ancient capital and a city where centuries-old craftsmanship and ceremonial elegance remain part of daily life—the show unfolded during peak cherry blossom season, its breathtaking scenography heightened by petals drifting across ancient stone. The presentation honored the enduring relationship between the French fashion house and Japan, a connection dating back to the namesake founder.
Cherry blossoms frame To-ji Temple in Kyoto at night. Photo: Daici Ano. Courtesy of Dior.
As a tribute to the collaboration established and developed since 1954 between Christian Dior and Tatsumura Textile—the historic jacquard silk weaving workshops founded in Kyoto in 1894—the collection featured silhouettes sublimated by their emblematic fabrics. Many of the pieces bore the same motifs chosen by Dior over 70 years ago.
A look from the Fall 2025 collection presented in Kyoto. Courtesy of Dior.
For Chiuri, the collection’s conceptual jump-off point was Love Fashion: In Search of Myself, an exhibition Chiuri visited at the National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto. Co-organized with the Kyoto Costume Institute, the show explored the emotional architecture of clothing—how garments shape identity, convey desire, and express the self. Chiuri built on these themes by drawing from archival Dior prints, particularly those from the Japanese Garden ensemble created for Spring-Summer 1953. In a poetic gesture of continuity, she invited master dyer Tabata Kihachi to reinterpret the cherry blossom motif using Kyo-Yuzen—a centuries-old Kyoto dyeing technique known for its vivid color and painterly precision. Adding another dimension to the dialogue, Tokyo-based milliner Sawa Vaughters reimagined the traditional kasa festival hat with a sleek black braid, lending it a graphic, contemporary edge.
A nighttime presentation unfolds at Kyoto’s To-ji Temple. Photo: Daici Ano. Courtesy of Dior.
Chiuri’s Kyoto excursions don’t stop there. Dior is supporting two exhibitions at the Kyotographie International Photography Festival. At the Kyoto City Museum of Art Annex, Mexico’s Graciela Iturbide is receiving her first major retrospective in Japan—a powerful survey of nearly 60 years of black-and-white imagery celebrating cultural identity and feminine strength. Meanwhile, Dior is also backing a solo show by Congolese photographer Pamela Tulizo at Sfera as part of the KG+ satellite program. Her new series highlights overlooked female histories and honors their enduring resilience through vibrant, stylized portraits.
AloJapan.com