ATHENS — The Panathenaic Stadium or Kallimarmaro became the hosting facility for a show by legendary fashion house Dior on Thursday evening.

Opening with the lighting of torches around 9:30 p.m., the "2022 cruise collection" is based on creations by Dior art director Maria Grazia Chiuri, and also included references to the bicentennial of Greece's Revolution of Independence and ancient Greek culture in its selection of white and blue fabrics and background stage decor.

Chiuri has said she was inspired to dedicate one of her collections to Greece when she came across a 1951 photo in the archive of founder Christian Dior depicting his models on the Acropolis. In a visit to Greece, she travelled to the archaeological sites of Delphi, Knossos, Santorini's Akrotiri and Eleusis.

Tonight's event was broadcast live on the fashion house's web page (Dior.com) and on its accounts on social media platforms. Dior's followers on Instagram and Facebook number 36 million and 18 million, respectively. In Greece, the event was scheduled to be broadcast at open spaces at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation and Soufli, Argos and Kalamata, in honor of home cities of some of the Greek designers who worked with Dior on the collection. Specialized workshops using traditional crafts have added a Greek stamp on the France-based house's collection.

Guests did not exceed 400 in all, and they included Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, who was wearing a dress designed by Christos Costarellos for her in Aegean blue. Of the guests, 200 have arrived from abroad in recent days.

Dior worked closely with archaeologists and local authorities to ensure the ancient sites' safety.

(Collection year was corrected from earlier references, to 2022.)