Christian Dior Haute Couture

On Monday, January 25, Maria Grazia Chiuri unveiled the highly anticipated Christian Dior Haute Couture Spring Summer 2021 film as part of Paris Fashion Week. The collection and accompanying movie take inspiration from the fantastic, magical, and utterly complex world of tarot cards, specifically the Visconti-Sforza: the world’s oldest existing deck, originated in the 15th Century. A reproduction of the deck is shown in the first minute of the 15-minute film. Likewise, the cards’ majestic jewel and gold tones and symbols, inspire the collection’s opulent silhouettes. 

The film, “Le Château du Tarot,” was directed by Italian filmmaker Matteo Garrone, with glam by Italian makeup artist Dalia Colli. Her makeup looks are specific to each Tarot character depicted in the mystical film. But that’s not to say that the cosmetics are by any means costume-like. Makeup remains subtle, with the most emphasis placed on the eyes. Complexions and lips are natural, with soft, muted sweeps of colour on the eyelids. Below, get an up-close look at two of Colli’s makeup looks presented in the film, specifically that of “The Fool” and “The Stars.”

Hair also plays a remarkable role in the collection’s story line, and the hairstyles were brought to life by Francesco Pegoretti. The film’s protagonist wrestles with her identity, and her hair plays a role in the journey, as she alternates between long, feminine lavender locks and a masculine brown pixie cut. By the end of the film, these two parts of her psyche come together in the spirit of the multifaceted luxury fashion label that is Dior.

Throughout the film, accompanying Tarot characters wear their hair away from their face in elegant buns and micro bangs à la Daphne from Netflix’s Bridgerton. Accessories are also in abundance: elaborate headpieces and accessories born to reflect their Tarot card character, be it Temperance, The Fool, or The Priestess. See below for behind-the-scenes photos from Pegoretti.

One of our favourite accessories is a jewelled headband resembling a crown that’s worn in a majority of the accompanying Christian Dior Haute Couture SS21 look book photographs, shot by Bulgarian photographer Elina Kechicheva. The hair and makeup is pretty uniform in terms of the look book images, with hair worn back and natural glam. Christian Dior Makeup Creative and Image Director Peter Philips was responsible for the look book makeup, which complemented the collection’s lavish, exquisite details reminiscent of the Regency era. To do so, the expert makeup opted for subtle, feminine touches, like shimmery pigment in the inner corner to brighten the eye. The makeup is soft and fresh, like that portrayed in a Renaissance painting. 

In a press statement, Philips said, “I wanted to create a make-up look bathed in softness thanks to a translucent complexion, and eyes lit up with a satiny gold, applied subtly to the eyelid and more intensely to the inner corner of the eye.” He specifically used one of the shades from the Dior Jungle (579) 5 Couleurs Couture Eyeshadow Palette.

Click through the slideshow below for a look at some of GRAZIA’s favourite hair and makeup moments from the collection.

Chiuri insists that haute couture evening wear remains essential, despite the world’s seemingly universal draw towards sweatpants and slippers. “I know that everybody’s obsessed with this crisis to be simple, to be more basic and functional,” Chiuri told WWD. “But couture is about uniqueness, craftsmanship and tradition, and if we don’t do that in couture, I think it’s really sad for the future of these traditions because the risk is that we lose them.”

If you haven’t done so already, hit play on the video below to experience the Christian Dior Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2021 collection film in full.