For her first haute couture presentation as the creative head for Dior, Maria Grazia Chiuri sent down a stunning tulle gown that took over 800 hours to complete. For the French fashion house’s Autumn Winter 2017-18 show, the designer managed to top her last feat by creating the, now iconic, Tarot Card coat that reportedly took 1,500 man hours to make.
She recruited Maison Vermont, an embroidery atelier in Paris, to create the intricate surface of the coat made using different materials, including satin and mastic. Chiuri, who calls herself the ‘curator of the idea of Dior’, paid tribute to the rich legacy of Christian Dior on the fashion house’s 70th anniversary with this collection.
“Monsieur Dior was very fascinated with tarot and astrology. Me too,” says Maria Grazia Chiuri, on choosing the particular theme for her creation. Continuing her streak to firmly establish the brand as a feminist one, she reiterated the importance of using tarot in the design, “In tarot, there’s no distance between men and women. They speak about an idea of affinity.”
The surface of the coat has been embroidered with card designs based on original tarot cards, including Chiuri’s two favourites: ‘Strength’ and ‘Death’.
See how the jacket came to life here:
