• Commissions

DIOR Cruise 2022

In my images of the DIOR Cruise 2022 collection, I experiment with scale, form and monumentality through a play of mirrors, aiming at composing time-sequenced moments of architectural and sculptural realities, as manifested through the dialogue of the female silhouette with the Greek landscape on the volcanic island of Milos while symbolizing the links woven in the Cruise 2022 collection designed by Maria Grazia Chiuri.Inspired by mythological personas and enigmatic female figures in the works of surrealist painters such as Giorgio de Chirico and Paul Delvaux, I aimed at retracing such visual narratives in Greek antiquity rediscovering womanhood through archetypes, symbols, allegories and forms.

The original idea of the mirror came from the initial stages of my research around the ancient Greek sculpture of Venus of Milo of the Hellenistic period and the various attempts to restore the statue whose arms are broken. Multiple restorations deny the authenticity of the right hand holding an apple while other creators who exercise more freedom in their reconstruction work, depict Venus holding a shield on her knee and writing on it. Others assume that her right hand is holding a mirror, while others who claim that there is no need to interpret the statue as Venus, believe that it is Victory and place wreaths in her hands.

This fragmentary approach to the anatomy of the statue led me to envision images of a body performing beyond boundaries, embracing variations of femininity in a universe of noble expression through nature and form. My initial ideas were further enhanced once in the real site interacting with the ethereal fabrics and accessories in the collection, beautifully worn by the muse Nassia I worked with. The collection itself inspired me to look into how garments go beyond traditional use leading to the continuous rediscovery of femininity and female creation in past and present forms.

Director: Margot Populaire, Art Directors: Susie Hong, Adelaide François- Poncet, Model: Nassia