Towering stained-glass windows cast an ethereal glow across Dior’s SS21 show

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30 September 2020: Dior’s creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri turned to artist Lucia Marcucci to create a glowing church-like set for her SS21 show in Paris yesterday, bathing models in light from haunting stained glass windows.

Marcucci created 18 lightboxes for the set design, each shaped like the gothic pointed arched-windows found in medieval churches. These seven-foot-tall windows were based on an earlier 2011 artwork, filled with collages depicting images relating to feminism and art history, and rendered in bold colours.

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Maria Grazia Chiuri told Vogue: ‘It celebrates visual poetry. What I continuously try to do is work with other artists from different backgrounds and experiences to reflect on fashion. In this moment in time, we have to reflect on our future. This dialogue is very important.’

This pseudo-religious imagery set the tone for the show and the global angst affecting the world as we head into a second-wave of COVID-19, with the usual 1500 guest-list trimmed to a slim 350 in line with gathering restrictions.

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Models walked down the aisle through the darkened space to a soundtrack of female singers performing traditional Corsican lament, the Sangu di Rosa, arranged by Lucia Ronchetti.

And to coincide with the show, Dior has released a film delving deeper into Marcucci’s lightbox design.