Celia Kritharioti's New Couture Collection is a Paean to a Propitious Post-Pandemic Future

Backstage in Paris at the couture show of Greek designer Celia Kritharioti, a model strikes a pose in a jaunty, scintillating creation from the SS22 collection. All photographs and cover picture by Ell Ioannou for DAM

Celia Kritharioti's new Spring/Summer 2022 couture collection was presented at a live show and was one of the highlights of Paris Couture Week. We go backstage to see the celebratory, vividly-hued gowns that are a paean to a happier future post-pandemic. Story by Jeanne-Marie Cilento. Photography by Elli Ioannou 

Brilliant colour, fluidity and volume

were themes of the show

GREEK couturier Celia Kritharioti brought brilliant colour and glimmering gowns to the runway for her latest haute couture collection. 

The designer was keen to bring a sense of positivity and happiness to her Spring/Summer 2022 collection as an antidote to the past two years enduring a world dominated by Covid-19. 

She chose to have a physical show while many other designers presented their collections digitally with short films and photographs. 

However, there is nothing like the real thing with the excited buzz of chatter and preparation before the show backstage and the audience waiting in anticipation beside the runway. 

The show was held in the Saut du Loup space at Paris' Palais de Tokyo. The models all looked like beautiful, brightly-hued butterflies in their gowns. which ran from jazzy short cocktail dresses to elegant and voluminous ballgowns. 

Embroidery was a highlight of the collection created by Kritharioti's specialist artisans. The colour palette ranged from blue, lime and chartreuse to yellow, orange and fuchsia pink. Long capes were embellished with ostrich feathers while sparkling motifs, transparency and cut-outs enhanced the figure-hugging designs. 

 

Celia Kritharioti was keen to bring a sense of positivity and happiness to her collection as an antidote to the past two years enduring a world dominated by Covid-19. 

Backstage the models get ready

before the runway show

The designer's atelier is based in Athens and her fashion house is the oldest in Greece, founded in 1904 by her family. 

As a child she was surrounded by all of the accoutrements of a fashion business including textiles, seamstresses and embroiderers and later travelled to Paris for shows like Dior and Chanel. 

Although Celeia Kritharioti went on to study business and economics, it wasn't long before she was drawn back into fashion with a particular focus on haute couture which she sees as an art. 

Today, she has a fashion house that encompasses exquisite bridal gowns, ready-to-wear and the couture dresses that are worn on the red-carpet by high-profile women from Gwyneth Paltrow and Heidi Klum to Jennifer Lopez and Lady Gaga.  

Celia Kritharioti first presented her collections in Paris five years ago and since then her shows have been outstanding  for their combination of both exuberance and elegance.

Scroll down to see more backstage and the the runway show or tap pictures for a full-screen slideshow

Paris Couture Week: Streetstyle at Dior Spring/Summer 2022

Italian entrepreneur Chiara Ferragni with sister Valentina in Paris, on their way to the Dior haute couture show a the Musee Rodin. Photograph and cover picture by Elli Ioannou for DAM

Streetstyle during Paris Couture Week is one of the highlights of the fashion calendar. Fashionistas pose against the 18th century, honey-coloured stone buildings around the Musée Rodin where the Dior show is  staged. Chiara Ferragni attended and joined a front row that included Rosamund Pike, Beatrice Borromeo Casiraghi and Claire Foy. Story by Jeanne-Marie Cilento. Photography by Elli Ioannou 

Guests gather outside the entrance

to the Musée Rodin in Paris

for the SS22 Dior Couture show

DESPITE the rising numbers of Covid-19 cases in France, Paris Couture Week has already had dramatic live shows on the first two days of this season's schedule. While there are 30 shows on the official haute couture calendar only half were physical shows, the rest were digital. Kanye West sat in the front row at Kenzo at the debut collection by Nigo as well at the brilliant Neo-Surrealist show by Daniel Roseberry at Schiaparelli. 

However, the new Dior couture collection by Maria Grazie Chiuri was much lower key than those shows with a palette of soft greys, cream and black in a series of finely-tailored suits and shimmering gowns. The clothes provided a neutral foil for the giant, vividly hued tapestries hanging on the walls along the runway. 

Held in the garden of the Musée Rodin, in the signature Dior white cube, the embroidered wall hangings were created by artists Madhvi and Manu Parekh. These were made by an Indian school that Chiuri works with called Chanakya, where women are taught traditional crafts. 

The colossal display had 400 artisans working on the embroidery. This will be open to the public from January 25th to the 30th as an art exhibition. 

The street style outside the Musée Rodin and the Dior show was covered by fast-moving photographers shooting fashionistas wearing the stylish to the surreal. Chiara Ferragni wore an emerald green Dior suit with fishnet stockings and long Sixties style boots while her sister Valentina decided on a more casual ensemble by the French maison including a beige denim jacket, houndstooth mini-skirt and stolid black lace-ups. 

Bryan Boy maintained his blond locks and carried a pictorial Dior bag. Veteran Vogue fashion journalist and show stalwart Suzy Menkes wore a combination of purple coat and aqua green scarf. While not everyone had the magic ticket to enter the Dior tent, people were happy to be out and participating in Paris fashion week while the pandemic rages on..

Scroll down to see the highlights from street style at the Dior haute couture show in Paris or tap pictures for full screen slideshow.