Christian Dior’s Haute Couture lines have always been revered as a form of artwork. Now, Dior has decided to complement their craft with the art of Isabella Ducrot.

Ducrot’s installation, named Big Aura, showcases twenty-three oversized dresses—an echo of the dresses of Ottoman sultans studied by Ducrot—which are arranged on a composition of irregular black grids. Ducort’s artwork becomes the backdrop of the Dior Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2024 Collection in the Rodin Museum gardens.

Maria Grazia Chiuri, Dior’s creative director, sees Big Aura as the essence of haute couture—a distinctive genre where each piece adapts uniquely to the wearer, carrying a collaborative aura between the user and Dior. The La Cigale dress—designed by Christian Dior in the ‘50s—plays an important structural role throughout the collection as the reconstruction of the design is seen in the rigidly structured, cinched waists, and protruding hips.

While drawing inspiration from the past, the collection introduces undeniably modern elements like tight draping, imposing collars, cut-outs, and overlapping layers. Moiré, a wavy-textured fabric, becomes pivotal, reflecting the original La Cigale dress. Cotton and silk produce a classic effect within the designs. The color palette exudes an aura featuring a spectrum from khaki, black, and white to green, red, and blue.

In a collection surrounding artwork, each design appears as if it could be displayed on the wall alongside Isabella Ducrot’s paintings.