Dior's Cruise Show Paid Homage To Mary, Queen Of Scots

Every Cruise season serves as an opportunity for Dior’s Maria Grazia Chiuri to spotlight an important woman in history as well as the country they hail from or represent. In the past, these figures have included Mexican painter Frida Kahlo (for the label’s Cruise 2024 show in Mexico City last year) and Carmen Amaya (for the 2023 presentation in Seville). For Dior’s Cruise 2025 event, the brand’s creative director looked to Scotland’s famed half-French monarch Mary Queen of Scots for inspiration. To tap into the royal’s rebellious nature and recorded love of tartan and Highland apparel, Chiuri employed local talent — particularly famed Scottish designer Le Kilt.

Set in 17th-century landmark Drummond Castle Gardens in Perthshire, Scotland, Dior’s latest installment aimed to infuse fresh, modern energy into the country’s traditional style codes. In a recent interview with Vogue, Chiuri said Le Kilt founder Samantha McCoach was an ideal collaborator. “She’s someone who can translate a tradition and make it desirable again,” she explained to writer Sarah Mower. “That’s always difficult to do. And, punk is one of the uses of tartan. And that’s always something I like.”

Punk indeed. Following an inaugural entrance by local bagpipers, models marched down the famed castle steps in varied tartan dresses and co-ords set in vibrant shades of violet, marigold, and cherry red. Doubling down on the edgy aesthetic, Chiuri incorporated embellished chokers and belt bags as well as rubber Wellington-style boots — likely a reference to the lush Scottish landscape that’s often dewy and muddy thanks to heavy rain and precipitation.

Chainmail detailing resembling medieval armor a 16th-century Scottish knight might wear was envisioned as bib-like tops draped over tartan corsets, hip-grazing capes, and floor-sweeping gowns. Heavy combat boots and cut-out black leather gloves also signaled a military theme, nodding to Scotland’s battle-fraught history.

In a video featured on Dior’s Instagram, author Clare Hunter explains Queen Mary’s love for embroidery and how she leveraged it as “form of rebellion and communication” and “to claim her testimony” on quilts and tapestries during her 19-year captivity in England, where her letter writing and access to visitors was restricted and heavily monitored. On the Dior runway, this intricate form of storytelling was captured in the floral needlework splashed on long belted knit duster sweaters, the blanket coat which featured a detailed map of Scotland, and the leather mini dresses marked with common derogatory words to describe female behavior like “emotional,” “fierce,” “moody,” and “difficult.”

Ahead, see the highlights from Dior’s Scotland show, which lively paid homage to the country’s fearless and notorious monarch.