For Maria Grazia Chiuri, staging her Dior cruise show in Rome was a gamble: she hadn’t presented a collection in her hometown in 10 years, ever since her Mirabilia Romae haute couture show as cocreative director of Valentino.

“For me, doing a project in Rome was obviously one of my desires, but also one of my fears, because ‘Mirabilia’ was such a high point,” she said in a preview ahead of the Dior event on Tuesday night. 

It turns out, there are enough marvels in Rome for several fashion extravaganzas. Chiuri put on a super-production worthy of the city’s famed Cinecittà film studios in an equally cinematic setting, the Villa Albani Torlonia after dark. 

Its central parterre was shrouded in artificial fog, with a smattering of real raindrops that started to fall just as the show was about to begin, but let up about halfway through.

The privately owned, 18th-century complex, home to a prestigious collection of Greek and Roman antiquities, is off the beaten track due to its byzantine admissions policy. Even art collector Jean Pigozzi had never managed to score an invitation. 

“I have a house, and I live exactly 300 feet away from here, and every day, I walk in front of it. I said, ‘How can I come in?’ And they said, ‘Oh, you can come in. It costs about 300 euros.’ So I said, ‘OK, well, I’m gonna think about it.’ And I was very kindly invited by Dior,” he said. 

Having befriended the owners, he hopes to eventually make it inside the villa, where the artworks are housed.

Chiuri channeled the venue’s deep historical references with a sequence of outfits fit for a Renaissance princess. Diaphanous gowns, in a palette dominated by cream and white, alternated with sinous crimson and black velvet column dresses and androgynous outerwear.

A black lace dress was topped with a heavy cream wool military-style coat with tails, while others came with a peaked trench cape, a shrug-sized motorcycle jacket or cream tailcoats with more than a hint of Marlene Dietrich. 

For viewers joining online, the broadcast was bookended by a short film by Italian director Matteo Garrone, marking his third collaboration with the designer. In it, characters dressed in pale costumes roamed the grounds like ghostly apparitions.  

If some of them looked familiar, it’s because Chiuri commissioned costume house Tirelli to reproduce some of its most famous creations, seen in films ranging from Luchino Visconti’s “The Leopard” to Martin Scorsese’s “The Age of Innocence.” 

“We wanted not only to experiment, but also with this lightness, to show that the construction behind a film costume is very close to haute couture,” she said.

The collaboration was the starting point for her collection: an ode to Rome’s enduring love affair with the silver screen. Including both ready-to-wear and haute couture looks, it took its cues from film heroines.

Silvana Mangano’s aristocratic character in “Death in Venice” was echoed in a lace-encrusted shirtdress and dense crochet-style knits, while a beaded gown channeled gladiator attitude with a trompe-l’oeil chest motif and a long strip skirt.

“Cinema has done a lot to promote the image of Rome,” Chiuri said. “For me, it was important not only to show my personal Rome, but also Rome as it has appeared in the movies.”

In those classic films, the line between fantasy and reality is often tenuous: think of Anita Ekberg bathing in the Trevi fountain in “La Dolce Vita,” or Marcello Mastroianni in the guise of an 18th-century nobleman haunting an ancient palazzo in “Ghosts of Rome.”

Those blurred lines were on full display the day before the show, as extras in historical costume mingled outside the tent where models lined up in their show looks for a rehearsal. That there was a surreal tinge to the proceedings was fitting, given that Chiuri is starring in a peculiar fashion drama of her own.

For months, speculation has swirled that she will be succeeded by Jonathan Anderson, who was confirmed last month as Dior’s menswear designer and is tipped to take over the women’s division as well. Tuesday’s show was widely seen as her swansong. 

While Dior officials remained tight-lipped, it was business as usual for the unflappable designer. 

Explaining the decision to preempt the haute couture season, which traditionally unfurls in Paris in July, she said it was down to the similarity between costume design and the production of made-to-measure outfits for Dior’s wealthiest clients. 

“In fact, the dialogue that took place with Tirelli wasn’t done by the ready-to-wear team, but by the haute couture team. They are two languages ​​that are more similar,” she argued. 

The event coincided with the official reopening of her passion project, the historic Teatro della Cometa, or Comet Theater, after a lengthy renovation. Ahead of the show, guests were treated to a teaser of the collection at the tiny horseshoe-shaped venue, in the shape of a stunning tableau vivant performed by actors in all-white ensembles.

Chiuri said it was inspired by the theater’s founder, art patron Mimì Pecci Blunt, and her famous Bal Blanc in 1930. In photos by Man Ray, guests are seen artfully posing in white costumes. It’s what prompted Chiuri to issue a dress code for her soirée: white for women, and black for men.

Guests including Natalie Portman, Camille Cottin and Rachel Brosnahan duly complied. 

“I love a dress code and I think it makes everybody feel special. There is a sense of belonging and togetherness, you are part of a production, I suppose. It’s like being part of a theatrical company, you are required to play a part,” said Rosamund Pike. 

“I get overwhelmed with choices,” Alexandra Daddario concurred. “I’m an actress, I’ve learned fashion but that was not my expertise so for me, it’s wonderful to have someone as talented as Maria Grazia and Dior choose something for me.”

“White Lotus” star Sarah Catherine Hook soaked up the sea of monochrome outfits. “I didn’t know we were going to do all white and being here and seeing it, I think it’s elegant and perfect for a garden show. It’s kind of like a dream look, and I feel like a vintage princess,” she said.

Chiuri noted that Rome has always been a “Theatrum Mundi,” Latin for “Theater of the World.” Dior landed in the Eternal City alongside scores of Catholic faithful from across the planet celebrating a Jubilee year and a new pope. 

Guests were treated to exclusive experiences, including a visit to the studio of artist Pietro Ruffo, who has collaborated with Chiuri on many of her shows; a visit to Tirelli, where seamstresses were busy running up new costumes, and a private visit to the Domus Aurea, the vast complex built by Emperor Nero. 

It was another show of force from Dior, which ranked as the strongest luxury and premium brand in the most recent report on the world’s top 50 luxury and premium brands from consultancy Brand Finance — rising three positions from the previous year. 

Under Chiuri, the brand’s revenues have tripled, but parent company LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton has disappointed markets in recent quarters with flagging sales amid a global slowdown in demand for luxury goods. It has appointed new creative directors at several of its marquee brands in a bid to pique consumer interest. 

As the first female creative director of the French fashion house, Chiuri has displayed an unerring instinct for what women want. With this atmospheric pageant, she once again proved her knack for storytelling that translates into rich store displays. 

While some of the craftsmanship got swamped in the magnitude of the setting, fans of the designer will lap up the unabashed femininity of a slipdress with scalloped layers dusted with beads, or the majesty of a cape dripping in gold fringe. 

If it does turn out to be the final clap of her nine-year tenure at Dior, Chiuri can pride herself on writing her own ending.

— With contributions from Luisa Zargani