SET DESIGN

Le désir est révolutionnaire car il cherche ce qui ne se voit pas;  We rise by lifting others; La différence pour les femmes est des millénaires d'absence de l'histoire;  Be a builder of unguilt… The Italian artist Marinella Senatore chose manifesto phrases that radiate feminist empowerment. Through her work, the activist, who hails from the Salerno region, explores the significance of collective action in sharing, transmitting and questioning history, and breaks down social structures and asymmetries. Her in situ installations sometimes involve poets, dancers and musicians, and are conceived as inclusive performances that reveal the richness of the local cultural fabric.

For Dior, she celebrates the art of the Luminarie – captivating architectures that illuminate the streets and palazzos of Lecce, particularly during the town’s festival of patron saints – in collaboration with the ateliers of Fratelli Parisi, a house founded in Puglia in 1876. These designers and “light stylists” dream up virtuoso shapes and graphics in which color and intensity intertwine, creating  striking effects of movement. Transposed onto the collection’s looks through delicate prints and embroideries, these motifs pay homage to the beauty and power of this fascinating region’s traditions. Enhanced by a unique performance choreographed by Sharon Eyal; orchestrated by Paolo Buonvino – who conducts musicians from the Orchestra Roma Sinfonietta and the Notte della Taranta Foundation’s Orchestra Popolare – and punctuated by an unprecedented vocal and piano performance by Giuliano Sangiorgi, this show is an ode to festivity, conviviality and joie de vivre, and to the magical, popular rites perpetuated by Puglia’s inhabitants and artisans.

© ALESSANDRO GAROFALO