Rithika Merchant’s installation enhances Dior SS25
For Dior’s Spring/Summer 2025 haute couture show, scenography takes center stage with The Flowers We Grew, an installation by artist Rithika Merchant. The project, commissioned by the creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri and brought to life by the skilled artisans of Mumbai’s Chanakya ateliers and Chanakya School of Craft, transforms the venue at the Musée Rodin into a striking environment. The setting replicates Merchant’s original paintings in embroidered form, creating an immersive atmosphere that complements the collection’s themes of memory, transformation, and nature. Visitors can explore the installation at the Musée Rodin until February 2, 2025.
all images © Adrien Dirand for Dior, unless stated otherwise (head image © Dior)
The scenography for Dior’s Spring/Summer 2025 show, The Flowers We Grew, forms a vivid and emotive backdrop to Maria Grazia Chiuri’s latest haute couture creations. Conceived by artist Rithika Merchant and brought to life by the skilled embroiderers of Mumbai’s Chanakya ateliers and Chanakya School of Craft, the installation comprises nine monumental panels that translate Merchant’s original paintings into intricate embroidery. Depicting plants, animals, mythical creatures, and symbolic motifs such as eyes, the artwork draws on the natural world to weave a layered narrative.
This immersive installation fosters a seamless dialogue between art and fashion. Its organic shapes and meticulous detailing resonate with the collection’s themes of contrast and transformation, positioning the scenography as an essential element of the storytelling.
In keeping with the scenographic themes, Maria Grazia Chiuri’s SS25 collection draws on Dior’s rich heritage while reinterpreting iconic silhouettes for today. A nod to the Trapèze line, first introduced by Yves Saint Laurent in 1958, exemplifies Chiuri’s approach to sartorial memory and reinvention. Her designs reflect a dialogue between structure and fluidity, with modernized crinolines revealing their construction, lace-trimmed tulle culottes embodying a playful femininity, and floral-embroidered bustiers celebrating nature’s beauty.
One standout piece revisits the Cigale silhouette from Dior’s autumn-winter 1952-1953 collection, now reimagined in moiré fabrics as a tailored tailcoat and skirt ensemble. Black coats, delicately embroidered gowns, and feather-embellished capes add to the collection’s balance of bold silhouettes and fine detailing. A three-dimensional burnished silver embroidery further amplifies the collection’s surreal yet timeless quality.
