As the Eternal City and the Vatican prepared to welcome several million visitors for the Jubilee Holy Year, the Vatican Library on February 15^th inaugurated the exhibition En Route, which will be open to the public through December 20^th. Combining historical heritage and contemporary art, the event encourages reflection on the theme of travel as a universal experience, in which “elsewhere” becomes a space for different cultures, eras and sensibilities to meet. Conceived under the curatorship of Don Giacomo Cardinali, Simona De Crescenzo, Francesca Giannetto and Delio V. Proverbio, this retrospective takes as its starting point a collection of newspapers assembled by the Italian diplomat Cesare Poma during his expeditions – including the French periodical En Route!¹, known as Poma.Periodici² and preserved by the Library.

To allow the public to discover the treasure trove of documents it preserves, the Vatican invited Maria Grazia Chiuri – along with the singer Jovanotti, whose real name is Lorenzo Cherubini, and the illustrator Kristjana S Williams – to examine, reappropriate and reinterpret this fascinating corpus through the prism of her creative vision.

The Creative Director of Dior’s women’s lines wished to question the links between fashion and travel using a resolutely feminist approach. For En Route, she dreamed up a unique work that highlights the stories of six women, 19^th-century adventurers who defied convention, prejudice and taboo to roam the globe: Annie Londonderry, Elizabeth Bisland, Nellie Bly, Gertrude Bell, Agnes Smith Lewis and Margaret Dunlop Gibson.

In the Barberini room is unveiled a dedicated installation designed in collaboration with Karishma Swali, the Chanakya ateliers and the Chanakya School of Craft. Reflecting research into the evolution of women’s clothing via a play of layering and cultural references, it is composed of six textile paintings that initiate a captivating dialogue between the trajectories of these extraordinary explorers and several kinds of excellence in craftsmanship. Made from threads of linen and hemp, each hanging is embellished with Kantha embroidery – a process that originated in India – and takes the form of an ancient parchment, on which the destiny of these extraordinary women is rendered visually. One of the cards reads “Féminité, le piège” (Femininity, the trap), echoing Simone de Beauvoir. 

Prolonging this odyssey, two globes trace the migration of fabrics and embroidery techniques throughout different periods of history. The first reproduces traditional cartographies using various weaving techniques, representing the textile wealth in several regions of the world, while the second draws an imaginary, more intimate geography recounting the travel dreams of the women artisans at the Chanakya School of Craft.

“The installation I designed with Chanakya is a testament to the power of the language of textiles and craftsmanship,” explains Maria Grazia Chiuri. “As a form of non-verbal communication, capable of transcending borders and cultures, it is, in my view, a meaningful way to pay tribute to the daring spirit of women travellers of centuries past. I am proud of this collective work that brings us together across generations and continents.”

For the Creative Director, this world tour was also an opportunity to interrogate the relationship between the body and clothing, between intention and function. A collection of pieces inspired by those worn by these six emblematic pioneers is thus staged inside a travel trunk.

A wonderful collective escape, and an ode to the essence of fashion as a vehicle for self-affirmation and emancipation.