The luxury fashion house’s fascination with Japanese culture can be traced back to founder Christian Dior in the 1950s.
It’s still very much spring in Kyoto but a stunning new collection from Dior gave the ancient city a whiff of fall. Led by creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri, the Italian luxury fashion house transformed the elegant garden of the Toji Temple into a runway. Quite fitting for a country known for its affinity for minimalism, the pieces were simple yet classy, practical yet elegant.
The temple’s illumination lent an autumnal atmosphere to the event, draping models in light and shadow as they walked down a pebbled path and over a footbridge with cherry blossoms adding a hint of color. Long overcoats and dresses dominated the show, with the most memorable ones worn kimono-style.
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Autumn brings with it a chill in the air, but there’s no stopping Chiuri from featuring loose trousers and flowy dresses with shimmering flower patterns. Yet there were also fall staples like wide-sleeved jackets and dramatic long skirts that undulate with every movement.
But Kyoto was not a mere passive backdrop. Dior collaborated with local specialists, such as traditional Japanese textile company Tatsumura Textile Co., for the designs, which drew on 15th and 16th century styles. In an interview with Reuters, Iku Tatsumura, president of the Kyoto-based company, said that they made different prototypes, from which the final version was selected for production. The entire process took about a year, he added.
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Dior also didn’t choose Japan as the setting for the show just because. The atelier’s ties to the East Asian nation dates back to the 1950s with its founder Christian Dior, who was known for his fascination with Japanese culture.
In 1952, for instance, he chose the name Tokio for one of the dresses he designed for his Christian Dior–New York fall/winter collection, per Vogue Runway. The following year, the article continued, his haute couture ensemble was titled Jardin Japonais, and in 1954, he created Outamaro, an outfit crafted from an opulent brocade woven by long-time collaborator Tatsumura Textile.
Monsieur Dior also has the distinction of being the first couturier to present his collection in Japan in 1953. In 1959, this profound love for Japan saw its culmination. He was handpicked to design three dresses for the civil wedding of Princess Michiko, future wife of Crown Prince Akihito, and future Empress of Japan, cementing his status as a global designer.
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For Dior’s fall 2025 show, Chiuri “studied the garment in two and three dimensions, including the kimono jacket,” per the website of LVMH, the label’s parent company. The 61-year-old took inspiration from Christian Dior’s 1952 creations, Diorpaletot and Diorcoat, which can be worn over a kimono while “respecting its shape.”
The show was also a look into the intersection between body, identity, and desire, which is embodied by the kimono. “It’s the body that defines the shape of the kimono,” Chiuri said, as quoted in Vogue Runway. She noted its ease of wear while giving the highest praises to Japanese craftsmanship, a tradition she described as “respected, preserved, and continually regenerated…rooted in the past, honored in the present, and propelled into the future.”
The result is a breathtaking collection that is as timeless and stunning as a kimono.
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Watch the full show here:
