In the lush gardens of Villa Albani Torlonia, Maria Grazia Chiuri unveiled the Dior Cruise 2026 collection. A dreamlike spectacle steeped in mythology, cinema, and the spirit of rebellion.

Chiuri, Dior’s visionary Creative Director, has long been known for weaving feminist discourse with fashion. For Cruise 2026, she invites us into a world of “bella confusione” (“beautiful confusion”), a phrase borrowed from Ennio Flaiano’s title proposal for Fellini’s 8½.

At the heart of this collection lies the enigmatic figure of Mimì Pecci-Blunt, a cosmopolitan muse of Rome, Paris, and New York. Through Mimì’s legendary soirées and passion for the arts, Chiuri finds a living link to Rome’s multifaceted cultural legacy. The result is a series of garments that evoke theater, illusion, and liberation.

The Dior Cruise 2026 lineup is rich with metaphor and subtext. Tailcoats meet full, sweeping skirts in silhouettes that nod to historic costume yet speak in a modern lexicon. Vests, borrowed from the men’s wardrobe and tailored with occasional lapels suggest quiet defiance, while dresses are reminiscent of chasubles.

Black-edged military jackets punctuate the collection, echoing both strength and spectacle. Dresses crafted from diaphanous lace share the runway with structured variations embossed in bas-relief. White, in all its tonal variety, becomes the protagonist of the collection. Rendered in many different materials, from the lightest to the densest.

In a cinematic flourish, Chiuri pays homage to the Fontana sisters. The legendary Italian couturiers who dressed Anita Ekberg in La Dolce Vita, with velvet mini dresses in red and noir that interrupt the sequence of whites. A golden velvet gown offers quiet drama without uttering a word.

Read more coverage of the Cruise 2026 collections here.