Scotland has long held fashion in its thrall, with Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood perhaps most famously tapping into their Celtic heritage and its bloody history to debut collections like Highland Rape – a dark offering that came dripping in the checkered tartans of the country’s clans. This season, it was the turn of Maria Grazia Chiuri to channel the country’s iconic markers into her Cruise 25 collection for Dior, as she corralled the fashion crowd and dropped them in a castle in the middle of Perthshire to present a collection inspired by Mary, Queen of Scots. Ticket lost in the post? Here’s everything you need to know.
Fashion’s Cruise shows are not known for being the most understated of affairs so it made sense that Dior would take over one of the most impressive landmarks in Scotland: Drummond Castle. Set at the top of a winding, narrow road completely enclosed by trees, the 15th century castle has seen endless royalty come and go, and sits overlooking an impressive expanse of manicured gardens. Greeted by boys kitted out in kilts, guests climbed down the stone steps to the catwalk, as VIP guests including Jennifer Lawrence, Rosamund Pike, Lily Collins, and fashion’s ascending star Anya Taylor-Joy preened and posed for a swarm of photographers.
The 2025 Cruise season has been cursed with terrible weather – Chanel’s show in Marseille, Louis Vuitton in Barcelona, and Balenciaga’s Hong Kong outing have all been washouts. So when Dior announced it would be showing in Scotland – a place not exactly known for its tropical climes – it was pretty much accepted it would be another one to add to the list. Attendees were proved wrong, however, as they were blessed with two days of blue skies and bright sunshine.
Instead of doom scrolling through Instagram and TikTok like the rest of us, Maria Grazia had been getting stuck into the history of Mary Stuart – or as she’s better known, Mary, Queen of Scots – ahead of the 2025 Cruise show, which is why she ended up basing her entire collection on the legendary monarch and OG boss bitch. Not only this, though: the Italian designer has a real affinity for Scotland, having visited Orkney on holiday a long time ago. Similarly, Christian Dior himself was pretty fond of the country, and in 1955 took over Gleneagles Hotel – just up the road from the Drummond estate – to showcase a Haute Couture collection to Scottish fashion fans.
No Scottish experience would be complete without the distinctive wail of the bagpipes, with Dior looking to local musicians to soundtrack part of the show. Leading a procession of pipers was Caroline Polachek collaborator Brìghde Chaimbeul, who’s been at the forefront of a new-gen resurgence of the iconic Scottish instrument. Meet her here.
The collection itself drew on Scottish stalwarts, with kicky little kilt skirts matched with specially commissioned Dior tartan bombers and Tam O’Shanters and plaid mini dresses paired with Argyle socks pulled high up the leg, with many looks accessorised with militaristic sashes and shiny pins. Chiuri also looked to historic dressing from the years Mary Queen of Scots was cutting about the highlands: evening gowns came crafted from silvery chainmail, while floor-sweeping, Scottish Widow-esque gowns with low, square-cut necklines were presented in rich, heavy velvets, some studded with pearls. The ruff is also back in a big way, with crisp white ruffled versions finishing off a wipe-clean black dress embellished with red embroidery reading: ‘Fierce, moody, emotional, difficult, nag, hysterical, feisty, bossy’ – AKA the kind of names women like Mary Stuart have had thrown at them across the years, and the kind of stuff your toxic ex doled out when you asked for slightly more than the bare minimum x.
Maria Grazia Chiuri is nothing if not committed to a collab and spotlighting the creativity and craftsmanship of the regions she looks to for inspiration, and Cruise 25 was no different. The designer tapped knitwear specialists Johnstons of Elgin and Esk Cashmere, as well as Harris Tweed, who she’s been working with for some time now. Robert Mackie was enlisted to create headpieces, and a new partnership came in the form of an alliance with Le Kilt – the cult label bringing the iconic style to a new generation. Founder Sam McCoach joins Grace Wales Bonner as part of a cohort of rising female designers Chiuri has used her platform at the helm of one of the most powerful brands in the world to uplift and shed light on.
