Dior introduced the Lady Art project in November 2016 at Art Basel Miami. This iconic bag, first bequeathed to Princess Diana on a visit to Paris, would be revisited by a number of renowned artists. The fine arts have long been at the heart of Dior’s creations – Monsieur Dior counted a number of friends in his inner circle that were some of the most influential in their time. Names like Max Ernst, Alexander Calder, Alberto Giacometti, and Pablo Picasso were often shown off in Christian Dior’s gallery. This is the heritage that Maria Grazia Chiuri is working with today; you may recall her Spring/Summer 2018 collection that put a spotlight on artist Niki de Saint Phalle.
This time, for Dior Lady Art #2, the brand is teaming up with 10 contemporary artists from across the world, most notably from the UK and the U.S. These artists are big figures in contemporary art, such as Friedrich Kunath, Jamilla Okubo, and Spencer Sweeney. The latter is transforming the Lady Dior into a kaleidoscopic piece through his favorite material, silver mirror fragments. After more than 60 attempts, the Seoul-based artist finally arrived at a dazzling and captivating new Lady Dior. This exuberance suits the magnanimity of the bag’s lines quite well.
Another notable bag is Davis Wiseman, who surprises with perforated flowers on a metallic calfskin material. “My sculptures in ceramic, bronze, argyle, always start with a drawing. I then imagine how different elements, often inspired by nature, come together. I followed the same process for this bag. I first imagined a floral motif that working with perforated leather allowed me to create.” Finally, perhaps the most hypnotic piece is Friedrich Kunath’s – a rainbow with the colors of a Hollywood sunset. “I was born in East Germany and I work in Los Angeles. I like to explore the array of emotions between sadness and optimism. Here I wanted to evoke the graphicness of a beach towel on Venice Beach with the idea of a melancholic Parisian winter day. The rainbow is a nod to my paintings.” This yields a calfskin Lady Dior printed in relief with clouds of lambskin. These exceptional pieces are available now.
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