Dior taps Joana Vasconcelos to create its mythological AW23/24 set from sculptural fabrics

Photography: Bureau Betak

Joana Vasconcelos created a kaleidoscopic, otherworldly set for Dior’s AW23/24 Paris show, using 20 of the brand’s signature fabrics to create a ‘metamorphic’ landscape with bands of colour.

The site-specific installation is inspired by the Valkyries – the mythological heroines sent to the battlefield by Odin to choose those worthy of Valhalla.

‘I developed this installation not only to integrate the fabrics but also to fill up the space, interacting with the models and the public,’ said the Portuguese artist. ‘Exploring a triple relationship between monumental sculpture, human bodies and inhabited clothing, almost like a kind of sculptural dance. Between visual arts and fashion.’

Weighting up to 20 tonnes, Vasconcelo’s brightly coloured installation feature a bright nucleus suspended from the ceiling with ‘tentacle’ arms fanning out. The show, at Paris’ Jardim das Tulherias, is not Vasconcelos’ first collab with the fashion house: in 2013, she created a giant bow using hundreds of Dior perfume bottles.