While many gave up the idea traditional fashion week this summer, Dior is not giving up. Chairman and CEO Pietro Becari and designer Maria Grazia Chiuri announced Dior Cruise show in July in Lecce, in Italy’s Puglia region.

“Luxury is excitement. And in the case of fashion, nothing beats the excitement of a real runway show: a live performance where artists act with no safety net,” said Beccari confidently at the start of the presentation. Despite the currently complicated circumstances, which have forced many fashion capitals to opt for a digital format for their summer events, the executive, who succeeded Sidney Toledano as the brand’s leader, believes that the situation is no more than a passing phase. “The location, the music, the story that Maria Grazia wants to tell, the electricity that people feel in the moment, the deadlines, the adrenaline… all of that is part of the world of fashion,” he explained.

“We believe that there will always be a place in fashion for live runway shows,” the executive went on, emphasizing his preference for physical events. This bias has facilitated the decision to host the next Dior cruise show physically, albeit without a live audience. “It will be a very special show,” he added, pointing out that the event will feature collaborations with craftsmen from the Puglia region, as a result of partnerships established before quarantine. Many of the craftsmen had given up on the show happening, most likely considering more feasible presentation formats, such as the lookbook style video with which Chanel presented its cruise collection at the start of this month. Proud of having been able to keep its word to these craftsmen, the Italian manager assured that, in the wake of the pandemic, “supporting our country is the most important thing for both of us.”

“We wanted to send a message of support, optimism and rebirth after this difficult period for the whole fashion family,” said Beccari, explaining the reasons behind the maison’s decision to go ahead with this project. “I think of all the large and small suppliers, the family businesses run by craftsmen in France and Italy. Many of them have seen their whole winter collections cancelled because of these misfortunes and many others still don’t know how they are going to survive. We wanted to give them all a reason to start again,” he explained, while also mentioning “the rest of the fashion family,” such as models, photographers, hair stylists, makeup artists, musicians and producers. “We think that the event will act as an incentive to all those who work on runway shows to move forward with optimism,” he added.