Since taking the helm at Dior in 2016, Maria Grazia Chiuri has made it clear that her vision for the house would center around the work of women artists. From inviting creatives like Judy Chicago and Mickalene Thomas to create site-specific installations, Chiuri has consistently used her role to amplify women’s voices. For the Spring-Summer 2025 Haute Couture collection, she called upon Mumbai-based artist Rithika Merchant, known for her evocative portrayals of mythological and natural worlds. Merchant’s nine paintings, drawing from her ancestral ties to Kerala, were reimagined into large-scale textile panels by Karishma Swali and the artisans at the Chanakya School of Craft. The result is a compelling, all-encompassing visual experience crafted using brushstrokes and hand stitches.
In this interview, Merchant talks to Architecture+Design on how her work has evolved, the significance of her collaboration with Dior, personal stories embedded within her pieces and more. Find excerpts from the interview below:
Your work is deeply influenced by mythology, folklore and nature. What drew you to this style, and how has it evolved over the years?
My reference to epics and myths across geographies stemmed from an attempt towards self-discovery and to explore the common thread that runs through different cultures. I focus on telling a story using my own world building techniques. My paintings explore this concept through featuring creatures and symbolism that have come to build my personal visual vocabulary.
How did your collaboration with Dior and Maria Grazia Chiuri come about, and what was your initial reaction when you were approached?
I met both Karishma Swali and Maria Grazia Chiuri for the first time in 2023 in Mumbai when the whole team came to India for the show there, and I also got a chance to tour the Chanakya School of Craft. When they told me about the project and I saw the work they do at Chanakya, I was immediately on board and the collaboration blossomed from there. Since I work primarily as a painter, it is very exciting to see how my works are interpreted and translated through different collaborations.
‘The Flowers We Grew’ draws from your Kerala roots and ancestral stories. How did you translate these personal narratives into a large-scale immersive installation?
I approached the work the same way as I do my own practice, focusing primarily on telling a story. My mother’s family is from Kerala, and I come from a long line of wild, fierce and powerful matriarchs. The series of nine paintings for this project were conceived chronologically as past, present and future. Four works from the series reference these ancestral stories and feature many of the plants, trees and flowers found in Kerala, such as jackfruit, palm trees, pepper vines, banana trees, coffee trees and thunder lilies. In the panels that express my vision of the present and future, further connect and channel the energy of my female ancestors. They illustrate my vision of a future led by women harnessing this powerful female energy and joy. My works were then translated into large-scale tapestries. I think people can expect to be fully immersed and feel transported. I hope that the symbols and imagery will resonate with them too.
What was it like seeing your work take shape through embroidery?
I’ve always been inspired by tapestries – especially those that are narrative in nature. My work with embroidery hoops continues my experiments with adding mixed media elements into my work. With this in mind, it feels very full circle that my work is now being interpreted in the same medium. It’s been amazing and very surreal to see my work at this scale. It’s such an immersive installation and I feel so lucky to have been given the opportunity to have free reign to make my vision come to life in this beautiful space. I am lucky to live quite close by to the Chanakya Atelier in Mumbai so I was able to check and see the progress on the panels in person — and I could not have had a better experience. Being able to see the way these master embroiderers work up close was incredible.
The Dior show had an Alice in Wonderland-inspired theme. How did this fantastical element influence your creative process?
More than the theme, we actually talked a lot about childhood memories and stories and how both these things shape us and our creative process. Both the collection and my work are about building a wonderland that you can fully immerse yourself in.
Your work often highlights themes of womanhood and craft traditions. How do you see yourself contributing to the evolving conversation around women in art and design?
I am drawn to rich symbolism and a strong element of storytelling through which viewers can be expected to derive various versions of the narratives. I hope that the symbols and imagery will resonate with them too. In ‘The Flowers We Grew’ I turned to the powerful ancestral stories that have been passed on to me through a line of matriarchs, originating from the region of Kerala. Although I mine my own personal history, the works speak to a collective ancestral feminine energy that many women can relate to. Needlework, collaging, quilting, weaving etc. have long been considered ‘women’s work’. However, I think there is something powerful in taking whatever scraps you can find and putting them together to create something meaningful. These mediums also subvert historic ideas of how women create.
Now that you’ve worked with Dior, do you see yourself exploring more collaborations in fashion or design?
I don’t have any specific ties with the fashion world. In both cases, working with Chloe and Dior, it was more about my work resonating with people who worked in and around fashion, which opened those doors for me.
What kind of projects excite you the most at this stage in your career? Any upcoming work you can share?
My next solo will be at TARQ in April this year and also keep a lookout for new lithographs produced at Idem!
What was the most surreal or emotional moment for you during this entire collaboration?
Meeting Karishma and working with Chanakya has been a huge highlight for me — being in conversation with them and seeing how they interpret my work, especially the very built watercolor elements with embroidery has been really wonderful. Maria Grazia Churi is an incredible champion of the arts and gives the artist she works with the opportunity to realise a monumental project and stay very true to their vision. The most surreal moment was seeing the final project fully installed at the Musee Rodin — the scale of it took my breath away!
If you had to describe ‘The Flowers We Grew’ in one sentence, what would it be?
‘The Flowers We Grew’ explores how we transform and harness this divine feminine ancestral power and wisdom going forward: The seeds we plant in the past grow into the flowers of the present.
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