The Art of Reinvention

Dior invites 10 renowned artists to redesign the iconic Lady Dior bag 64

ashion trends may come and go, but the Lady Dior bag certainly isn’t going anywhere. Since its launch in 1995, the fashion piece has become the perfect embodiment of Dior. It was only a year later that the bag caught Princess Diana’s eyes, and it was then that everyone who wanted to recreate a royal look turned to the bag, whose poise and elegance are as enchanting as the Princess herself.

Made from only the best leather, the Lady Dior’s trademark cannage stitching and padded leather cushions are unrivalled. The design is not complete without the mirrored facets and fine silver or gold charms. While the apparel changes each season under the influence of different artistic directors, the Lady Dior remains the face of the fashion house.

Wanting to reinvent the Lady Dior for a more creative market, the fashion house invited several artists to redesign the bag for a limited-edition series last year. With the success of these designs, they chose to invite 10 distinguished international artists to reinvent bag again this year.

Re-envisioning the Lady Dior bag with a touch of rebellious romance is Betty Mariani. The French artist expresses youthful energy through her artworks that resemble street art and graffiti. Betty used each media layer to create a gradual colour depth that stands boldly against the black leather details of the bag. The alluring chaos that ensues in the background juxtaposes the serenity that the woman in the foreground displays.

Even though one would think that the graffiti technique might overwhelm the bag, the artist’s main use of cool tones tinged with the slightest bits of red merge seamlessly together. The intricate embroidery near the woman’s side-profile adds more depth to the flower crown and adds a touch of spontaneity to the overall look.

While the design serves something new without a doubt, its colour palette certainly stays true to the midnight-blue tones Dior proudly wears as its trademark shades. What was once perceived as a signature look for the fashion house has significantly changed in the hands of these artists.

nown for its minimalistic designs, daring concepts and clever mechanisms, H. Moser & Cie has always had a list of ardent collectors awaiting each limited-edition watch. At one point, under its founder Heinrich Moser, the brand became such a synonym for luxury timepieces in Russia that it was included in a folk song— the man himself sold about 500,000 watches during his lifetime. Today, under the Meylan family, with Edouard Meylan as the CEO, the Swiss-based watchmaker celebrates its rich historical ties while looking boldly ahead for new inventions. We talk to him here.

What’s the story behind the creation of the Venturer XL Concept Stoletniy Krasniy? In 1917, there was the Bolshevik Revolution, and H. Moser & Cie, which was a well-known brand born in 1828 in Russia, was expropriated to Switzerland. My great-grandfather, Octave Meylan, then was in charge of the company after Heinrich Moser passed away. Until almost two years ago, we weren’t allowed to go back to Russia because someone else owned the brand. When I took over in 2012, I tried to find the person and found him in early 2015; right away I negotiated on how to buy the brand back.

Then there was the big crisis in Russia and the ruble fell dramatically, which made it difficult to go even though now we have the right to return. Finally in early 2017, when the situation was stable enough to go back, we decided to create something special to celebrate the return of H. Moser & Cie to Russia and to symbolically create the bridge between now and 1917. We like to do things differently because Moser was the brand of the empire, but we didn’t want to use Russia’s black double-headed eagle as many other brands have.