Dior continues its love affair with Japan for Fall ’25

Dior’s love affair with Japan runs deep, from Monsieur Dior making history as the first couturier to show a collection there in 1953 to John Galliano, then the house’s creative director, channelling the drama of Puccini’s Madame Butterfly, set in Nagasaki, for the spring 2007 haute couture show. So it comes as no surprise that last week the French house staged its autumn ready-to-wear show against the backdrop of Kyoto, choosing the peaceful surroundings of the Tō-ji Temple, home to Japan’s tallest wooden pagoda, as the show’s location.

Maria Grazia Chiuri, creative director of the womenswear and couture lines, explored the cultural influences behind global clothing habits, taking her cues from the Diorpaletot and Diorcoat, two jackets designed by Christian Dior in 1957 to be worn over the silhouette of a kimono. The kimono influences were clear as the models strode down the runway, framed by the blooms of cherry blossom season. The Italian designer was inspired by the relationship between body and garment, hence the silk, belted jackets and flowing wrap dresses, reminiscent of traditional kimonos, that hugged the female form. Footwear was equally considered, with lace-up ballet flats and thong boots nodding to the split-toe Japanese tabi boot, dating back to the sixteenth century.

Standouts included the closing evening gowns, with one in a velvety deep red, another in violet, alongside sheer, embellished versions that oozed romance. The mood was shaped by Chiuri’s visit to Love Fashion: In Search of Myself, an exhibition at Kyoto’s National Museum of Modern Art in late 2024, which explored the concept of love — specifically with a mind to the body, identity and desire — through the cut of garments spanning from the eighteenth century to today.

In true Dior fashion, the rich fabrics, made in collaboration with local artisans including Tatsumura Textile and traditional kimono dyeing master Kihachi Tabata, stole the show. Pieces ranged from denim to knits, inspired by the rigor of origami, and plant motifs — a tribute to Christian Dior’s passion for flowers, especially the Japanese sakura, which was sketched, embroidered and dyed across bomber jackets, wide trousers and trench coats. Overall? A blooming good show from Dior.