Dior presents 2025 Cruise Collection in Pertshire, Scotland

In 1955, Christian Dior traveled to Scotland to present his fashion creations in the ballroom of the Gleneagles Hotel. For the 2025 Cruise Collection, Maria Grazia Chiuri chose the spectacular terrace gardens of Drummond Castle as the narrative setting.

Against a gray stone backdrop, the Creative Director of Dior women’s lines bridged eras and cultures with this latest outdoor runway show. Photos from the 1955 Spring-Summer show have been transformed into prints or transformed into appliqués on pleated skirts. The iconic Scottish kilt and tartan fabrics are celebrated in fresh expressions with myriad color iterations. As Christian Dior wrote in The Little Dictionary of Fashion: “Tartan is probably the only fancy fabric that resists changing fashions.”

Fabric favorites in the collection include velvet set off by lace to dress contemporary equestrians. Lengths alternate between short and long, coats and capes protecting and enveloping women’s bodies, some adoorned with a majestic map of Scotland. Cuts create exaggeratedly wide sleeves, while gathered skirts and bustiers resplendent with embroidery. Inspired by the tragic destiny of Mary, Queen of Scots, who was an accomplished embroiderer, Maria Grazia Chiuri revisits the Millefleurs motif, transposing it into heraldic embroidery featuring the unicorn and thistle, both symbols of Scotland. Wearing rain boots or high wader boots, Dior women channeled punk or romanticism. Their faces unadorned or brightened with pearls, they had a conquering allure, even wearing fishnet so feathery it appeared woven from light.