Dior reimagines the classics with fifth Lady Dior collaboration

December 9, 2020

Lady Dior reimagined for Lady Art campaign. Image credit: Dior

French fashion house Dior has revealed the newest class of artists in the fifth edition of its “Lady Art” campaign, an annual celebration of creativity and craftsmanship.

For the fifth edition of Dior Lady Art, a new collection of artists from around the world created unique interpretations of the iconic Lady Dior bag. Through a series of short videos, Dior showcases these artists and their creative processes and inspiration behind their unique pieces.

"Anytime a heritage house collaborates with artists, it allows an integrated point of view to come together and for two creative forces to share their message," said Kimmie Smith, cofounder and creative director of Athleisure Mag, New York. "The 'Lady Art' campaign shows the power of reimagining a coveted handbag, while also presenting a great canvas for the selected artists to share their voices."

Handheld art
The French fashion house released five videos featuring artists it collaborated with for the newest edition of Dior Lady Art.

Last year, the label enlisted solely women artists for the campaign in a move emphasizing creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri’s commitment to bringing feminism to fashion (see story). While male artists were included in the newest group of collaborators, the ode to feminism and today’s woman was not lost.

Judy Chicago has spent the last 60 years creating colorful and provocative art that celebrates women’s rights and creativity. Her designs for the reimagined Lady Dior bag reference her own works of art and are labeled respectively.

“One of the things I really liked about the bag was that my art could continue to teach women’s history through purses,” says Ms. Chicago in the video.

Discover Judy Chicago’s Creations for Dior Lady Art

This year, there was a greater emphasis on how artists reworked an assortment of materials and textiles for their creations.

Recycle Group is a duo including Russian artists Georgy Kuznetsov and Andrey Blokhin who were inspired by the digital world for their reinterpreted Lady Dior bags. Honoring the pillars of Dior’s artistic culture, they combined the ancient with contemporary iconography and aimed to create somewhat of a digital vortex within the bags.

South African artist Chris Soal loves creating art using everyday items, so for Dior Lady Art, he evoked cowrie shells using folded beer caps and reimagined the bag’s signature quilting using toothpicks.

Malagasy artist Joël Andrianomearisoa created handwork-intensive pieces covered in millefeuille leaves of leather and black radzimir silk for his Lady Dior creations, materializing emotion from the packaging to the bag itself.

Discover Joël Andrianomearisoa’s Labyrinth-Themed Creations for Dior Lady Art

Finally, French L.A.-based artist Claire Tabouret has continuously blended classicism and modernity in her work and has drawn inspiration from works of impressionism. For one of her Lady Dior bags, she created a vampire-like self portrait and for another she painted a Degas-style dance scene using phosphorescent material allowing parts of the bag to glow in the dark.

Artisanal inspiration
Recently, Dior has been finding inspiration in art and artisans. From runway shows to digital campaigns, it has placed a significant emphasis on craftsmanship and creativity while honoring the brand’s traditions.

In July, the fashion label found inspiration from creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri’s home country of Italy for its Cruise 2021 runway show. Ms. Chiuri presented the show at the Piazza del Duomo in Lecce as a “love letter” to the Puglia region in southern Italy.

Echoing efforts made by Dior previously, local artisans collaborated with the brand to bring the cruise collection to life (see story).

Following the show, the label released an immersive documentary, highlighting the historical and present culture of the region of Puglia. The film deeply examines the inspiration drawn for the collection and explores a place held close to the heart of Dior creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri (see story).

"Fashion and fine art have a symbiotic relationship, as the two come from the same sensibility and, depending on the creative, can be taken to a number of destinations in terms of the medium that they choose to operate in," Ms. Smith said.

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