Around a massive outdoor corridor lit by dozens of floating candles, French fashion house Christian Dior presented a mix of cultures from different continents in its first fashion show in Morocco, with embroidered gowns and patterned garments. The fashion show has attracted actresses such as Lupita Nyong'o and Shailene Woodley to Marrakech.
**media[1236086]** **media[1236087]**
And as night fell on the El Badi Palace, which dates back to the sixteenth century, with its pool and gardens, fashion models swayed on the catwalk in flowing dresses in black or shades of brown, along with designs and engravings on fabrics from the Ivory Coast, from which the jackets that the house is famous for were made.
**media[1236089]** **media[1236088]**
In a departure from the traditions of the French house, Dior entrusted the task of manufacturing the fabrics to a company based in Abidjan. The set included embossed designs on both sides. "We're talking about the human touch here, like design," Maria Grazia Chiuri, the fashion house's director of innovation, said in an interview in Paris before the show. She added that the fabrics that are famous for the West African region and the famous symbols that are sometimes used as a form of communication were the main source of inspiration for the collection.
**media[1236090]** **media[1236092]**
Designers Pateh Ouedrogo from Burkina Faso, best known for designing costumes for Nelson Mandela, and Briton Grace Wills Bonner worked on designing pieces from the collection with other designers.
**media[1236099]** **media[1236100]**
Reuters (Marrakech)