The looks, which had a couture peasant feel with corseted waists, smocks and kerchiefs, included fabrics from the Constantine textile laboratory, an association of women in the town of Uggiano La Chiesa who maintain a lace-making tradition

For the finale, models walked through a lighted arch under the neon words: ‘’We Rise by Lifting Others.’’

‘’Tonight, I received really a lot of heartfelt congratulations and thanks, which moved me deeply because of the work we did with these people,’’ Beccari said. ’’The mayor said, ‘You don’t realize, you allowed some families to eat, to have hope, to have work.’’

That included hoteliers, and behind-the-scenes workers to pull the show together included also electricians, wood workers and caterers.

Recent fashion weeks in Milan and Paris were mostly digital, due to travel restrictions and distancing precautions imposed by the virus. Destination events like the one in Lecce are also falling out of favor. And September shows in the main fashion cities of New York, Milan, Paris and London still remain up in the air.

But while other fashion houses are paring down their calendar of events, Dior is running strong.

Besides the cruise show, Dior this month opened a five-story flagship store in Paris, launched a collaboration with Nike and its digital show for menswear. It is opening a 2,400-square-meter (24,000-square-foot) show in Shanghai on July 24 — twice the size of an exhibition last year at London’s Victoria and Albert museum of art and design.