Dior heading to Scotland for next cruise show

Dior will stage its next cruise collection in Scotland, with a runway show on June 3 at historic Drummond Castle, the Paris-based fashion house confirmed on Wednesday.
 

“A poetic invitation where past and future meet, celebrating the unique, powerful ties forged from the very beginnings of the House, for the autumn-winter 1947 défilé,” the house said in a release.

The location is a spectacular one, with a Renaissance garden dating back to 1630, containing French statuary and Italian terraces, an ideal setting for a French maison helmed by a Rome-born women’s creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri. The castle is set on a prominent spine of rock known as Gask Ridge, once the site of ancient Roman fortifications. 

Drummond Castle is arguably best known as the setting for the 1995 film Rob Roy, where the evil Montrose played by John Hurt lived.
 
This is not Dior’s first trip to Scotland. Back in the 50s the house staged a ball in nearby Gleneagles Hotel for its spring 1955 collection.

“The founding-couturier (Monsieur Dior) named an emblematic haute couture ensemble Écosse on that occasion,” Dior noted.
 

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The castle is now the seat of Lady Jane Heathcote-Drummond Willoughby, 28th Baroness Willoughby de Eresby, the daughter and heiress of the 3rd Earl of Ancaster. She was also a maid of honor at Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation.
 
Under Chiuri’s leadership, Dior has built a great reputation for working with local artisans and craftspeople on annual cruise collections. Most recently, Dior staged its last cruise collection in Mexico City, following trips to Seville and Athens.
 
Dior is not the first major fashion marque to choose Scotland as a location for a catwalk display. A decade ago, Karl Lagerfeld staged a 2012 Métiers d’Art show at Linlithgow Castle just outside Edinburgh.