With thistles and tartan, Dior pays tribute to Scotland in cruise collection

LONDON: French fashion house Christian Dior paid homage to Scotland at a catwalk show in a Perthshire castle, with tartan designs and thistle motifs adorning its cruise 2025 collection.

Celebrities, including Hollywood actors Jennifer Lawrence and Anya Taylor-Joy, gathered in the picturesque gardens of Drummond Castle in central Scotland for the show on Monday, where designer Maria Grazia Chiuri peppered kilts for the womenswear line with some punk nods.

Models wore an array of tartan asymmetric dresses, cropped and belted jackets, shorts and corsets, as well argyle knits, capes and lace or velvet frocks varying in length and volume.

Some of her designs bore fringes, embroidered thistle motifs or the map of Scotland. Others were festooned with pictures of founding designer Christian Dior’s 1955 fashion presentation at the nearby Gleneagles Hotel.

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Voluminous layered bodice dresses appeared to be a nod to Tudor styles, while some short frocks seemed armour-like.

Chiuri cited a book about Mary, Queen of Scots and her embroidery work as an inspiration. A white shirt tucked under a white corset were embroidered with various words in red, including “fierce”, “hysterical”, “emotional” and “bossy.”

Chiuri, who often works with female collaborators for shows, teamed up with Scottish designer Samantha McCoach, of the brand Le Kilt, for some creations.

The looks were accessorised with chunky black boots, long black gloves and chokers with pearls.

“Scotland is an important reference in the fashion world and I wanted to interpret it in a different way,” Chiuri told fashion magazine Vogue ahead of the show.

“For my generation, it’s so associated with punk, but there is another way to go into it, and that’s through the textiles.”

Cruise, or resort, collections - produced by stylists in addition to twice-yearly seasonal collections - are often held in different cities or countries.