Lisa Armstrong
Dior’s homage to Hollywood
hese cruise shows are becoming
T ever more lavish. On Thursday, up in those empty, majestic hills behind Malibu, appeared a series of canvas tents, 60 models, fleets of Maybachs and buggies to take us the last mile or so cross-country, champagne, tequila, impeccable canapés conjured out of little adobe-type huts, maybe a rattlesnake or two, and a perfect Californian sunset… Dior pretty much recreated a Georgia O’keeffe does Out of Africa tableau. Because, you know…
When Dior first announced it was showing its Cruise 2018 collection in the Upper Las Virgenes Canyon in Los Angeles, the connection between label and location didn’t seem obvious. From the je m’en fous swish of those scandalously full New Look skirts in 1947
(at a time when austerity still curtailed the fashion fantasies of many European women) to the tailored formality of Raf Simons coat-dresses in 2015, Dior has always seemed quintessentially Parisian – as far from the yogi-kale-and-leggings vibe of Southern California as it’s possible to be.
But as Maria Grazia Chiuri, Dior’s creative director, told me: “Dior had a huge relationship with California. People don’t know about it today. When I started to work at Dior [last year] and began researching the archives, I understood why Dior was so famous so quickly. He was a global brand way back. Right from the start, he got it.”
Arriving in LA, from the grey, sad chaos of Europe in 1947, California seemed like heaven, or as Dior wrote: “a super Riviera. Was it not the earthly paradise of which all Americans and many Europeans dreamed? A year round climate, an evershining sun, a bounty of fruit trees, large beaches lapped by the Pacific waves…” A decade later, he named a navy blue wool dress after the city and headed back there to launch his first swimwear collection.
Christian Dior not only pre-empted the peripatetic fashion show, he embraced the support of celebrities. Unlike his peers Cristobal Balenciaga and Coco Chanel, both of
whom could be scathing about Hollywood tastes, he dressed them all – from Marlene Dietrich to Marilyn Monroe, who, lest we forget, wore a little black Dior for her last photo shoot.
Chiuri is more ambivalent about the power of endorsement, although by no means dismissive. Rihanna, Laura Dern, Brie Larson, Charlize Theron (face of Dior’s J’adore Dior perfume), Angelica Huston and Miranda Kerr all attended the LA show. As did a Dior-outfitted Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, whose booklength essay, We Should All
Be Feminists, inspired Chiuri to produce a T-shirt this spring emblazoned with the instruction. At £490, it is a best-seller for the house. Solange Knowles, Beyoncé’s less poppy, jazzier sister performed at the after-party.
“I wanted the collection not to be a literal homage to Hollywood,” said Chiuri of this, her first Cruise show for the house. Instead, she thought about Dior’s paradise quotes, “and how people who live in LA love it because of the contact with nature as much as its red carpet reputation”. That was the cue for Georgia O’keeffe hats, ankle-brushing fringed skirts and suede jackets, tasselled peasant dresses, rugged lace-up boots, patchwork dresses and chunky knitwear.
This being Dior, up close the earthiness is all delicacy and refinement. Tulle, lace, silk jacquards and hole-punched cottons were doused with gauzy prints and embroideries depicting deer, horses and oxen inspired by the Paleolithic paintings discovered in the Lascaux caves in south-west France in 1940. Christian Dior also appropriated these drawings in a 1951 collection. Part O’keeffe, part Fleetwood Mac, a little bit shamanistic, it was also full of wearable pieces that can be dressed up or down, from khaki trenches with strikingly wide belts to blanket jackets. Chiuri is a meticulous researcher, who sprinkles her findings with contemporary touches.
None of these brands would wish to be so vulgar as to disclose how much this all costs, but we can assume several million euros. The logistics are startling. Dior flew some 700 journalists (including this one), models, hair and make-up teams to LA and the petites mains who actually make the clothes.
The business argument for these lavish expeditions is that they create a surge of interest on all instantaneous forms of media. Unlikely as it seemed even a year ago, customers are increasingly walking into stores, not with expensively shot editorial glossy pictures torn from monthly fashion magazines as their motivation, but screengrabs from their favourite Instagrammers.
Two weeks ago, Cartier, also out in Los Angeles to (re)launch its Panthère watch, sold a £65,000 diamond pavé model of the watch via Whatsapp. Some customers evidently no longer need to feel the quality, or try on an item, before splurging huge amounts of money on certified status symbols. Brand trust and an eye-catching picture are enough.
Quantifying the exact commercial impact of these shows is still more art than science. A customer might see a picture from Thursday night’s resort Dior show (which won’t be in store until November) on Instagram or in a newspaper and head to her nearest Dior boutique the following day to buy a dress from the current collection, available now. Or she might put a Dior bag on her Christmas list. Or he might pick up a Dior cologne the next time he’s at the airport. Whichever way it’s diced, the business model seems to be working for the moment.