The Dior Trianon Palette

For the second time now, Dior is bringing our imaginations to Versailles, back to the Age of Reason and the decadence of the royals, by painting a portrait of a modern day Marie Antoinette. The Petit Trianon palette, an homage to the Queen’s favorite refuge, reuses three colors that were near and dear to the couturier’s heart. Light pink, the “color of joy and femininity”, brings to mind the color of his childhood home, the villa “Les Rhumbs” in Granville, France. “Eucalyptus green” has been around since his very first collection, while the profundity of black inspired the designer.

This limited edition is chock full of allusions to its own history. The soft shades are brought to the next level by an inset pearl necklace, adorned with a ribbon, the ultimate accessory. Seen for the first time in 1949, the black-ribboned swan, a stroke of René Gruau’s genius, would never leave Christian Dior’s thoughts and would even make its way into his dresses and his boutique. Different variations have been known to appear: from the Fontanges ribbon, a clasic 18th century adornment, to the pleated ribbon, but also the bowtie, a souvenir of the Miss Dior flask that adorns the set’s brush, destined to bring beauty to its beholder. Available this month in the U.S. and Japan and in February/March internationally, Tyen is offering us a page out of the savory book of a unique century of contemporary courtesans.