In 1995, a year after its release, the now-iconic Lady Dior bag was gifted to Princess Diana by Bernadette Chirac, the First Lady of France, at the Cézanne Art Exhibition at the Grand Palais in Paris. The bag became a fast favourite for the people’s princess, who was often spotted carrying the style to public engagements, including the 1996 Met Gala — paired with a navy blue silk slip dress.
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The Lady Dior bag was conceived in 1994 by Gianfranco Ferre, who was inspired by the Napoleon III chairs used in the inaugural Dior show in 1947. Initially named the ‘Chouchou’ — meaning favourite in French — the bag is defined by its boxy silhouette which features a quilted crisscross cannage motif and is accompanied by hard top handles and a Dior charm.
Princess Diana’s penchant for the bag informed its change of name and cemented it as an enduring icon. Since 2016, under the tenure of creative director Maria Grazia Churi, the luxury French fashion house has enlisted a select group of artisans to transform the timeless silhouette into a true artistic object of desire. In its seventh year, the Dior Lady Art series travels across cultures, design styles, and artisanal techniques, with 11 acclaimed artists from around the globe putting their own spin on the silhouette.
This year, the lineup comprises Ghada Amer (Egypt), Brian Calvin and Alex Gardner (California), Sara Cwynar (Canada, Brooklyn-based), Shara Hughes (New York), Dorothy Iannone (America, Berlin-based), Minjung Kim (South Korea, based in France, Italy, and USA), Zhenya Machneva (Russia), Bouthanyna Al Muftah (Qatar), Françoise Pétrovitch (France), and Wang Yuyang (China).
“A meeting between Dior and the cultures of the world, this new inspiring carte blanche showcases virtuoso techniques and craftsmanship, driven by a spirit of innovation and limitless inventiveness,” said the French fashion house in a statement. “Each detail, thought out with infinite meticulousness by the eleven artists, is a tribute to singularity and savoir-faire, opening the doors of the imagination. As a final touch, each of the exceptional reinventions extends the artistic expression to the inside of the bag, revealing several poetic surprises. A celebration of joy and freedom.”
Highlights include Hughes’ detailed garden scenes accented with muslin flowers, Al Muftah’s poetic ruffled chiffons that recall both couture gowns and poetry anthologies, Yuyang’s exploration of space and heavenly bodies, Calvin’s Picasso-esque abstract portraits of women, and Cwynar’s gallery-like take on the signature cannage design.
Explore the seventh Lady Dior series designs below.
Words by Arabella Johnson
