Carte blanche Carteblanche Grèce The Greek palimpsest AstheHelleniccosmogonystrikestheimaginationatDior,creativedirector MariaGraziaChiurihighlightsahighlypersonal,demandingandabundant topography,rightafterherremarkableshowatAthens’PanathenaicStadium. Itwasthere,silent,tuckedintothe ChristianDiorbroughtthisintan- designerchoseGreecetoexplorewith nooksandcranniesofourwords,lurk- gibleimmensitytolifein 1951,when herfriendsonleavinghighschool,trav- ingintheimagination,thetheaterofour heunveiledhisFall-Winterhautecou- elinginanoldcarloanedbyparents. mythologies.Wethoughtwehadforgot- turecollectionatoptheAcropolis.A Thisodyssey,onthethresholdofher tenit.Somewhereonthehorizonofour handfulofdrapeddresses,inmother- adultlife,wasthereforeaninterminable firstjourneys—kilometersbeneaththe of-pearlpink,ivorywhite,overlapping RometoDelphijourney,withadetour bakingsunsoakedupbythemetalroof embroideryfallinginflutedswathes, tothemonasteriesofMeteoratoclimb ofadecrepitschoolbus.Thesparkof symbolicallyphotographedbyParis thepathwithoutapennytohername, movement, TheIliad and The Odyssey Match atthebaseoftheParthenon. reachingthesummitatdawntoover- fuelingthesailsofflight,withtheimpe- Seventyyearslater,MariaGraziaChi- lookanundulatingvalleyofolivetrees. rialmodestyofthosewhoarenotoutto uri,creativedirectoratDiorsince 2016, imposeanything:theGreekpalimpsest decidedtorespondinkind.Thedialogue Delphic Oracle Andthenthepalimpsest almostseemstoapologize,hidden madeperfectsense.Chiuriwasbornin patientlyacquiredlayers,extendinginto underthelipofalanguagebelieved Rome.TheHellenicinfluenceinfused theabyssesofthesoul,restingonaped- dead,whereasitsrootstrulyshapeadiz- herchildhood,entwinedwiththeLatin estalwheneverythingteetered,providing zyingnetworkofconnections,echoes, civilizationandwithmemoriesofTitus answerstotheworld’squestions.From bridgesandreverberations. LiviusandVirgil.Indeed,thefuture onecollectiontoanother,Chiurifeltallof thisvibrating,inundertones.Oneday, afterlookingintotheDiorpicture archives,shesawtheyoung,round-shoul- deredmusesfromthe 1950s,wearingball gownsagainstthebackdropofthePar- thenoncolumns.Andthepalimpsest unspooled.SunriseontheslopesofDel- phi,aninspiringtheaterofbeauty,where theoraclebeckonedhertoexploreher owndepths,thetransparentwetlookof thedancers’veilsontheAcanthusCol- umn,thefluidmovementofthepeplos coveringthebustsofwomencarvedlong agoontoreligiousbuildings,described byarchaeologistsas“runningwomen.” Delvingmoredeeplyintomemory, Chiurirecognizedanotherfamiliar thread,whichshetuggedandtiedtothe skeinofherinternalstructure:theques- tionofthefeminine,itssymbolism,how womencanencompasstheuniversal.In Delphi—theoriginalsanctuary,thesite ofthe omphalos,thenaveloftheworld— thePythiawasatthecoreofthespiritual device,abridgebetweenhumansand gods,assheinhaledthedivinatory pneuma (breath)risingfromthechasm below,torevealthefuturetothepresent. The feminine figure TheRoman designerthereforedecidedtounravel theHellenicthread,insearchofthe mythologicalfemininefigureandher symbolicrepresentations.Sheglimpsed thepossibilityofacontemporaryartistic interpretation,nourishingherimagina- tion:“GreekcultureunderpinsWestern Statueféminineenmarbre(vers2700-2400/2300av.J-C)aumuséedesArtscycladiquesd’Athènes. culture.Wecandrawfromitkeyele- Marblefemalestatue(circa2700-2400/2300BC)intheMuseumofCycladicArtsinAthens. mentsforponderingwhatwearetoday, 115 .stropS & erutluC fo yrtsiniM cinelleH -)DERCOH( tnempoleveD secruoseR larutluCfo noitazinagrO cinelleH ,stropS & erutluC fo yrtsiniM cinelleH/ sikohP fo seitiuqitnA fo etarohpE © : setnedécérp segaP)DERCOH( tnempoleveD secruoseR larutluC fonoitazinagrOcinelleH ,stropS & erutluC fo yrtsiniM cinelleH / sikohP fo seitiuqitnA fo etarohpE dna noilkareH fo muesuMlacigoloeahcrA © : ertnoc-iC