TOTE MODERN
A duo of haunting prints transform the Lady Dior bag into eye-catching wearable art
The French artist Claire Tabouret specialises in putting herself and others under scrutiny. Her 2019 Self-portrait as a Vampire is a metaphor for what it feels like to be a creative person: forever feeding on all that is alive around her. Thanks to a collaboration between Tabouret and Dior, the painting is now taking on a life of its own, having been stitched onto a new edition of the cult Lady Dior handbag to produce what Tabouret calls a ‘walking sculpture’.
‘When you think of Dior, you think of a very beautiful woman, of red lipstick,’ she says. ‘If you switch something up a little, it can become edgy, weird and a bit dangerous. Is it lipstick in this picture, or is it something else? I was inspired by Edvard Munch’s Love and Pain, where the kiss is eventually turned into a bloody exchange. Blood on the mouth is very erotic – and the vampire’s image is a glamorous one, too.’ Indeed, her final flourish is a white ‘ruff’ around the top of the bag, echoing Dracula’s Gothic collar and imbuing the piece with a hint of romance.
If this first edition explores darkness, Tabouret’s second – featuring her painting Circle Dance (Gold Sun) – is a celebration of light. Balletic figures flit across the fluffy faux-fur exterior, while a glow-in-the-dark lining reflects the fluorescence Tabouret often uses in her paintings. ‘The warmth comes from the inside, like a beating heart,’ she says. ‘I wanted it to be lit up with precious life.’ charlotte brook
Claire Tabouret (www.clairetabouret.com). Lady Dior by Claire Tabouret, from £4,700 (www.dior.com).