KYOTO, Japan (Reuters) – Dior creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri showed her fall fashion collection of loose, minimalist styles in the garden of the Toji Temple in Kyoto on Tuesday night.
Models walked down a broad, pebbled path and over a footbridge, parading long overcoats and dresses in mostly sombre colours, some worn wrapped Kimono-style across the chest.
There were loose trousers, wide-sleeved jackets and long, airy dresses with glittering flower patterns. Some looks were accessorized with a single earring, or a cross-body bag.
The French fashion house worked with local specialists, including traditional Japanese textile company Tatsumura Textile Co., for the designs, which drew on 15th and 16th century styles.
“We made several different prototypes, and from those, the final version was selected for production,” Iku Tatsumura, president of the Kyoto-based company told Reuters.
A silver-based fabric was made less shiny to give it a more modern look, while navy garments were lightened with tones of gray, he said.
“Altogether, the whole process took about a year.”
LVMH-owned Dior’s ties to Japan, where it has held exhibits and fashion shows and dressed royals, date back to its founder, Christian Dior, who in 1957 designed coats to fit over the shape of the Kimono.
For the finale, models lined up in front of the pagoda-style temple that was founded in 796, as Chiuri, who joined Dior in 2016, walked out for her bow, pausing for a quick nod to the audience.
(This story has been refiled to remove the image, with no changes to text)
(Reporting by Irene Wang, writing by Mimosa Spencer; Editing by Susan Fenton)
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