Dior mixes fashion and art for Lady Dior Art pop-up in Beverly Hills
Before working as a fashion designer, Christian Dior owned an art gallery, and he maintained close friendships with Salvador Dalí and other artists throughout his career. So it’s no surprise that one of the latest projects for French fashion house Dior continues its founder’s longtime association with art.
In June, Dior released a 10-piece line of limited-edition Lady Dior Art handbags and small accessories reimagined with orchid photo prints and petal textures by British artist Marc Quinn.
Now, the luxury brand has teamed up with six more artists to reinvent the signature Lady Dior bag, famously carried by Princess Diana, for every style of woman. There’s the sculpturally molded metallic leather by Jason Martin; the geometric patterned mink from Daniel Gordon; the butterfly photo prints on velvet by Mat Collishaw; the metallic paint-drop patterns from Ian Davenport; a flying muscle car motif by Matthew Porter; and vibrant abstract patterns and a frog print by Chris Martin.
Unveiled at Art Basel Miami Beach on Nov. 29, the pieces hit Los Angeles on Dec. 6 with the debut of a Dior Lady Art pop-up shop in the brand’s Beverly Hills boutique (the only one of its kind in North America), open until February.
While the Lady Dior Art bags (the designs come in three sizes) are the focal point, the limited-edition collection ($360 to $11,500) includes pouches, silk scarves, key rings, wallets, card holders, cellphone cases and a bracelet, each produced in runs of 100.
Set up like a gallery, the space is adorned with paintings by the artists and the paint-splattered floor boasts a gold “Lady Dior” star in a nod to the Hollywood Walk of Fame. A cluster of white mannequins, with one in gold to reference an Oscar statue, tote the art bags and don Dior’s iconic 1947 New Look, a full skirt with a waist-whittling Bar jacket.
“Los Angeles is a very important city for us; Mr. Dior came here in 1957 to give a fashion presentation at the Beverly Hilton,” Renaud de Lesquen, president of Christian Dior North America, said at the Dec. 6 celebration of the new Rodeo Drive pop-up. “We thought this collaboration with artists would be a perfect fit with our clients and the scene here in L.A. It was so interesting for the artists to work with leather, a new canvas. The pieces are very limited and special, and the line already has been very successful [many medium-sized bags have nearly sold out].”
Rihanna has been photographed carrying one of the small silver Lady Dior bags designed by Quinn.
Among the guests at the Dec. 6 Lady Dior cocktail party were actress Jaime King, model Destry Allyn Spielberg (daughter of Stephen Spielberg and Kate Capshaw), actress Britt Robertson, celebrity stylist Elizabeth Stewart, Wear LACMA founder Katherine Ross and florist Eric Buterbaugh.
“Gorgeous. I like the butterfly bags the best,” said King. “Art and fashion have always been good friends, and it’s really fun when you see artists get to take a spin on such a classic shape like this Dior bag and make it their own. L.A. has really become an art hub. So many of my artist friends have moved here from New York. … The museums and galleries are incredible, so it makes sense that fashion and art would come together in this way in L.A. Everybody can find a style that represents who they are.”
“I think what they’ve done is amazing — the colors,” said Buterbaugh, who custom-designed centerpieces with hellebores, herbs and mood moss in wire handbag-shaped holders for the private dinner that followed at Spago. “When brands do things like this, it’s changing the world. It’s so exciting because when I moved here 20 years ago from London, L.A. was a bit of a one-horse town. It was movies, movies, movies. But now it’s art and fashion and becoming more international. It makes me so happy to live here.”
