My Dior Electric Rubber

The vocabulary uses the English language wordplay that Christian Dior himself was so fond of to allude to the “cannage” motif. This story starts with a particular thread, adding to the tradition of a fabric composed of two woven chains, two diagonally crossed threads that complicated a rigid fabric. Made of small rattan sticks, the cannage design  came to the brand by means of a historical reference near and dear to the designer, who was fascinated by the 18th century, the grand era of Napoleon III. Back then, this motif was particularly appreciated and garnished the seat of his chairs. With a little help from decorator Victor Grandpierre, Christian Dior brought gilded cannage-seated concert chairs into the neutral and refined setting of the haute couture salons where his collections were presented. The effect hasn’t left the brand ever since, progressively invading shop windows of the 50s with exceptionally bizarre straw busts of Janine Janet. He then integrated it into the packaging of his perfume “L’Eau Fraîche”, the cologne that Christian Dior wore until his death, a scent that mixed masculine and feminine into one. The history of Dior’s cannage motif continued in 1995 when it appeared on the Lady Dior and in 1997, when it found itself imposed on the stone of Dior’s flagship Paris boutique on Avenue Montaigne thanks to architect Peter Marino, in addition to appearing on the façade of Dior’s Tokyo location. It would finally be engraved on Dior lipsticks, their makeup palette, and the VIII watch.

It’s latest appearance still resonates with the soft discretion that is characteristic of the brand. The My Dior Electric Rubber sunglasses adopt a restrained color palette of deep blue, sky blue, and pale pink who’s contrast perfectly balances the hot pink, bright orange, or citrus yellow logo. Parallel with the silhouettes in Raf Simons’ last runway show, the new Dior aesthetic, the branches are engraved with the cannage motif in an electric colorama. Printed on technical material, the glasses are made of rubber. Normally used for sportswear, this subtle nod still keeps all the elegance of the couture lines by this amateur of audacious nostalgia.