Presently, since the first Christian Dior fashion show, canning was the ideal pattern at Dior – the regalia of Lady Dior, the icon distilled prestige and majesty.
A Seat On Napoleon III’s Chair
Two eras were very dear to Christian Dior in the development of the aesthetics of his home – the 18th century, and the Belle Epoque. If he borrows the codes that have become iconic from his first sewing to the first, notably the knot and the corolla line, it was in the seat of a Napoleon III chair that he read the pertinence of caning.
This chair was in fact part of the layout of the mansion at 30 Avenue Montaigne, organized in collaboration with the decorator and friend Victor Grandpierre. The historic headquarters of Monsieur’s fashion house were, from floor to ceiling, an exact reflection of Dior taste. While the Gris Montaigne colors the walls with subtle elegance, the furniture emphasizes the panache of couture.
There are still today, in the large salons of his boutique avenue Montaigne, these Napoleon III chairs whose caning has since become a single pattern here and there in Dior fashion. First intended for the guests of its Haute Couture fashion shows, these chairs become a strong symbol of the house.
A geometric pattern made of squares and diagonals borrowed from the braiding work of vegetable fiber, the Dior cane made in quilting is omnipresent in the creations, and in particular on the mythical Lady Dior .
But it was Marc Bohan who first inserted it into dresses and a coat, in 1961. The iconic, Rolls Royce Coat, is among this.
Director of the house of Dior for three decades, he is also behind the Oblique canvas – an absolute icon!
Dior Cannage Today
Since, his successors have never ceased to recall the aesthetic power of caning. From John Galliano to Kim Jones who, for Spring/Summer 2019 made it into a very desirable bag, caning marries many creations with rare evidence.
Grand Bal watches, My Dior Electric Rubber glasses where the caning is carved out of rubber, scarves, jewelry.
Indeed, in 2012, the crazy cachet of Dior caning was revealed in the jewelry creations of Victoire de Castellane. Entitled “My Dior”, the collection was born from a childhood memory, that of Victoire de Castellane who accompanied her mother in this same Dior boutique on Avenue Montaigne.
The result is a line of refined jewelry with a lot of balance – cuffs, simple rings, bangles, delicately braided in yellow, pink or white gold, with a very graphic and glamorous mesh. The elegance and refinement of Dior, quite simply.
