Dior in the Desert: 6 Things to Know About Tonight’s L.A. Show

The Resort world tour continues with Dior’s show in Los Angeles. This evening, artistic director Maria Grazia Chiuri brought the fashion pack to the Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve in the Santa Monica Mountains—in ATVs, no less!—to present a collection of midi dresses, utility jackets, and chunky knits fit for the rugged, laid-back setting.

Chiuri’s unlikely inspiration? The primitive wall paintings in the Lascaux cave, which are estimated to be up to 20,000 years old. She discovered that Monsieur Christian Dior was fascinated by Lascaux; his Ovale collection of 1951 featured prints inspired by the paintings. Chiuri riffed on the idea in her own way tonight, but like Monsieur Dior, her pieces had a mystical, otherworldly quality. Below, read more about the collection while you wait for Nicole Phelps’s review.

The LocationIn the vast nature preserve, guests were seated in airy tents that offered views of the hills. The show began just after sunset, and in the background, hot-air balloons swayed gently in the breeze. As for the runway, there wasn’t one; models walked on the packed dirt in flat boots and leather sandals.

The CelebsThe convenient thing about L.A. is that it’s where the celebrities are. Charlize Theron, Freida Pinto, Brie Larson, Demi Moore, and Rihanna—who wore jeans and a new Dior fur—were just a few of the big names at the show.

The Primitive PrintsChiuri’s silk jacquard dresses and jackets featured her dreamy, blown-up interpretation of the Lascaux animal paintings. In earthy shades of tan, rust, and ocher, the prints looked surprisingly close to the real thing; there were even a few fur coats intarsia’d with the motif for the ultimate mix of past and present.

The DressesMany of the dresses featured Chiuri’s favorite silhouette: square neckline, corseted bodice, A-line midi skirt. There were also plenty of her signature balletic, sheer embroidered gowns; some came with a sequined handprint motif, while others had primitive-looking embroideries of women and animals.

The Western HatsSimilar to the label’s Fall ’17 show, in which every model wore a black leather beret, each look here was topped with a flat-brim hat, often tied below the chin or adorned with turquoise beads.

The Natural HairModels wore their hair in a simple, unfussy style you can try at home: a loose braid tied with leather.