Chez Dior

Recently as Savoir Faire followers will recall I featured the country retreat of the famed couturier Christian Dior. The mill which Dior had renovated was an exerecise in country living at its most refined and simplicity.

In stark contrast to this idyllic country retreat, Dior’s Paris apartment was an essay in high Napoleonic style and Parisian chic.

As Dior’s success gained momentum in the late 1940s and early 1950s, Dior had two friends decorate his Paris apartment in a style that was befitting his new status amongst Paris’ elite.

Georges Geffroy did the “public” rooms where Dior would hold receptions and dinners, while his other friend Victor H. Grandpierre did his private rooms.
One aspect of these rooms that strikes us is that they are virtually timeless in their appeal and execution. Today the colour pallet might be on a more muted tone, however I could see many designers using these rooms as a basis for designs today.

Put Some Chris in Your Dior!

Some Chris Von Wagenheim that is!

Savoir Faire just loves the great fashion photographers of the 70’s and 80’s, such as Helmut Newton, Guy Bourdin and Chris Von Wagenheim.

All photographers had a very similar pseudo erotic style which can seem to be sexually intimidating, but hey these were the days of hedonism and excess. Wangenheim’s world is a dark one, combining sexuality, violence and voyeurism, which somehow come together with visual elegance, which is unique to his work. All these things are subtle as in his work for Dior; however they are there in the background causing us all to look twice.

By the mid 1970’s the fashion side of Dior under the directorship of Marc Bohan was languishing and had reached an almost middle class sensibility. It was a good solid house that symbolised good taste. Not so on the licensing side of things, where accessories such as sunglasses, bags, scarves etc were the must haves, as the Dior logo took precedence over all others. The cosmetic division under the directorship of Serge Lutens was also pushing the boundaries with highly artistic advertising copy and colours.

The series of advertisements for Dior accessories used strong visual references plus clever puns on words to create a campaign that stood out for its innuendo. They were secretive and mysterious with a heightened sense of expectation as if the models were caught in a moment wondering what was going to happen next. I remember as a teenager whenever seeing the Dior ads in magazines etc, thinking how glamorous and grown up they were, and clipped them out for future reference and I still have them.

Aspects of his work are still referenced by photographers, artists and pop stars today. In the Dior Addict campaign of the early 2000’s you can see these references.