This is a love story: that for the beauty of fabrics, which merges with an intimate interpersonal adventure. Of the fabrics brought back from her many travels, from Russia to the Far East, Isabella Ducrot has created more than just subjects for study and research ­– they are unique sources of inspiration. And, through her work, they have given rise to a meditation on the meaning of life. A passion born, originally, of a desire to preserve resources: “Throughout my childhood and youth, textiles were perpetually transformed, old sheets became towels, towels became dishcloths, silk curtains became ball gowns, and ball gowns were then shortened to become ordinary garments,” she explains. A rhythm comparable to that of the living world, in which bud becomes leaf, then fruit, which falls and seeds the earth for the next cycle.

A Neapolitan who has lived in Rome for several years and a lover of roses – a fascination close to Christian Dior’s heart – she explores the multiple facets of textile creation, the infinite richness of fabric, “that vehicle of dreams” in the words of the founding couturier.

The dresses she selected for the show’s décor were presented on a support made up of grid-like black lines on a white ground, the artist’s signature motif. Produced by the Chanakya workshops and the Chanakya School of Craft, this scenography brought exceptional textiles back to life thanks to antique looms that were specially reassembled for the occasion. An aura, in all its resonant power.

“My creative work goes hand in hand with the exploration of new uses for fabric. Its aesthetic qualities continue to inspire me, as does its historical importance in human civilization.”*