Kilts, castles, couture! Dior to show cruise fashion show in Scotland

The Dior cruise show, which in recent years has travelled to far flung corners of the world — from Mexico City to Mumbai’s Gateway of India archway — this year has its sights set on Perthshire, Scotland.

Specifically, Dior’s creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri has selected the Drummond Castle gardens, an estate renowned for its sculptured grounds (which, in 1842, were visited by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert), for a collection to be shown on June 3, 2024.

The decision acts as a nod to the history of the LVMH-owned Parisian house, with a press release highlighting key Scottish moments in the brand’s history including the autumn-winter 1947 collection, which was entitled Écosse, and an extravagant ball hosted at the Gleneagles Hotel for the spring-summer 1955 collection.

As has been customary for the most recent cruise collections, Grazia Chirui will likely look to employ local craftsmen and fabrics to pay respect to the location — in other words, couture kilts are on the menu.

It follows a number of brands choosing the UK for off-schedule shows, including Chanel who opted to show 2023/24 Métiers d’art show in Manchester last December, and Gucci, who will present their own cruise 2025 show in London on May 13, at a still undisclosed location.

As for Dior’s front row at the castle, their autumn winter 2024 collection shown in Paris in February attracted the likes of Jennifer Lawrence, Nataltie Portman and BLACKPINK’s Jisoo onto the front row. Whether we will have a K-pop sighting in Scotland remains to be seen — as for the A-list Scottish set, actors Tilda Swinton, Ewan McGregor and James McAvoy would all make for starry extras.