EXCLUSIVE DIOR EVENT AT ANTONIA

In a city bubbling with activity, also stirred by the Salone del Mobile furniture and design fair, a crop of high-profile guests flocked to the Antonia boutique in Milan to fete the unveiling of the Dior SS 2017 collection, the first designed by Maria Grazia Chiuri. Antonia is one of a handful of world-leading stores chosen by Dior for this project. The others are Colette in Paris, The Webster in Miami, The Corner in Berlin and Maxfield in Los Angeles. Customized for Antonia, the windows featured an exclusive luminous display with the writing “Dio(r)evolution,” one of Chiuri’s key messages for the season, splashed on T-shirts. Inside, Chiuri’s most emblematic creations were displayed with focus, modernity and graphic appeal. Among trays of champagne and strawberries, Antonia’s most loyal clients and Dior fans went gaga over the gentle embroidered tulle skirts, gauzy knits, sturdy Tees and sharp tailoring, such as sleeveless coats, mixed in with the latest logoed accessories. As they swooned over each piece, they were immortalized by Maripol, a visionary artist/photographer, celebrated for her signature Polaroid imagery that captured the likes of Madonna, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring and Andy Warhol, their zeitgeist and vibrant New York party life. Her presence was an Antonia-only exclusive. Maripol autographed her signature vintage-effect saturated Polaroids, leaving them to the guests as a memoir of the evening. Maripol first teamed up with Chiuri, her longtime friend and admirer, to capture the designer’s debut at Dior through exclusive Polaroids and videos shot in the backstage of the SS 2017 show “For me, the Dior woman is a woman living in the moment. She is active and independent, with a real personality but never forgets that she is feminine. I interpreted this collection with what I know best: my faithful Polaroid,” says Maripol. Maria Grazia Chiuri adds, “For me Maripol, an American from France, is synonymous with a world that has always fascinated me. She worked with incredible artists such as Fiorucci, Madonna, Blondie and Keith Haring. That’s why I asked her to take my first portrait for Dior and asked her capture the emotions of my first shows.”