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Kurv Magazine, Christian Dior's New Campaign and Shanghai Boutique Relaunch . LADY BLUE
In Shanghai, Marion Cotillard becomes Lady Blue. The Lady Dior bag opts for a shade of blue as an echo to a colour that has run through the veins of the house of Dior since the beginning. 1947 marked the first appearance of a Sapphire dress that was to recur in a number of Monsieur Dior's collections.
With the birth of the New Look, blue was already part of the house's palette as a Paris blue or Bleu de Paris, which was to transform itself through the years into Bleu Nordique, Bleu Flamme, Ciel de Paris, Email, Bleu Vermeer, Opaline, Bleu Marie-Antoinette ...
"All the colours of the fields and gardens bring their joy : the blue of cornflowers, "forget-me-nots and delphiniums." (S/S 1949)
"'Bleu de Paris' reigns over almost all the day designs and is the symbol of this elegance. It takes on such an importance in the collection that it is genuinely part of its style." (A/W 1953)
If the appearance of an actual Dior blue or Bleu Dior ("very bright, to challenge Dior red") took until 1952, blue played a key role in the couturier's colour schemes. For Spring 1948 no less than six shades of blue brighten the Envoi and Zig-Zag lines. For the Ailee line the following season, « blue is employed as much as black".
The intrinsic freshness of the colour blue made it the ideal shade for Parfums Christian Dior. When the couturier asked Baccarat to create a first perfume bottle in 1949, it was to be a blue glass version for Diorama.
As early as 1987, eye-shadow palettes were packaged in midnight blue, matched by lipsticks the following year. In 1984, Tyen launched the first electric blue mascara. The pastel packaging of the 1970s has given way to more evocative tones for Dior perfumes, including the edgy shades of Dior Addict and the celestial Midnight Poison bottle, which inspired a matching dress designed by John Galliano for Eva Green to wear in Wong Kar-Wai's promotional film. If the current Artistic Director often plays with the denim end of the blue spectrum, John Galliano also adopts the more regal shades of a blue that features in both the British and French flags. For Spring/Summer 2009 Haute Couture, his inspiration was both the work of Monsieur Dior and the soft tones used by the Flemish school, hence marking the comeback of Vermeer Blue on the Dior catwalk ...
In 2010, Marion Cotillard's cobalt blue eyes bring the Lady Blue story to life for director David Lynch. In her third Lady Dior campaign, the French actress comes to Shanghai, after Paris and New York. The Lady Dior bag opts for a new shade of blue to match the occasion. GRAND RE-OPENING OF DIOR’S FLAGSHIP BOUTIQUE IN PLAZA 66
Following its expansion and renovation, the Dior flagship boutique, located in Shanghai’s Plaza 66, is scheduled to re-open its doors on May 15th, 2010. Occupying 480 square metres of space over two floors, the newly renovated boutique will unveil a modern, more sophisticated design. It will be the only boutique outside France and only the second boutique worldwide to modernise the brand’s image after Dior’s Paris flagship store on Avenue Montaigne. Designed by world-renowned architect Peter Marino, the boutique is split into several sections, each of which will be specific for each product category including women’s ready-to-wear, leather goods and accessories, footwear, fine jewellery and timepieces. It also boasts a comfortable and dedicated space for VIP clients. The boutique’s external wall features floor-to-ceiling display windows which are complemented by Dior’s classic Cannage design. Every detail in the boutique exudes French influence and maintains Dior’s classic heritage. With this combination an ultimate sense of timeless elegance and luxury is achieved. This combined with Dior’s exceptional service will undoubtedly make the Shanghai boutique more than simply a glamorous shopping experience for the brand’s loyal Chinese customers.
Oscar-winning actress Marion Cotillard in the latest 'Lady Series' from Christian Dior was shot in Shanghai by Steven Klein and filmed by David Lynch. |
