Run-a-Way
Fragments of Dior
On November 2008, Dior chose the Academy Award winning actress Marion Cotillard to be the new face of the Lady Dior handbag campaign. The first chapter was called “One Woman- Four Cities”. After that Marion Cotillard has continued her co-operation with the fashion house, advertising mainly the Lady Dior handbag. We will analyze each campaign individually.
Our first stop is, of course, Paris. Shot and film there, this ad is an ode to the France-based fashion house. The Lady Dior shortfilm/promo called “The Lady Noire Affair” is directed by “La Vie en Rose” director Olivier Dahan. It debuted on May 20 and was actually a thriller starring Marion Cotillard inspired by the film noir movement. It brings to life the ad campaign shot by the iconic Peter Lindbergh.
In the ads, Marion Cotillard is depicted in the first episode clutching the lace-like metallic grid of the Eiffel Tower, the purse slung on her arm etched with a similar pattern.
“Dior is not an apparel vendor; it’s not a bag vendor or a shoe vendor. This is why it’s so close to the movie industry,” Sidney Toledano, Chief Executive Officer of Christian Dior SA, said. “These actresses are showing the dream through Dior…this dimension of dream, glamour, and elegance” . “Having famous women wearing Dior, from royals and political figures to celebrities, is not meant to achieve a short-term impact, but to feed the brand’s momentum and “add more substance to the story of the brand. It’s a long-term process.”
Lady Dior: Paris – Lady Noire
Spring/summer 2009
Lady Dior: New York – Lady Rouge
Fall/Winter 2009/2010
The pictures for the print ads are shot by the renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz. The promo this time was a music video to the song “The Eyes Of Mars” performed by the actress herself and the band Franz Ferdinand. The stylish music video was directed by Madonna’s favorite director Jonas Akerlund.
Apparently, the music video & the song were only a back up option since Marion’s busy schedule made it impossible to film a proper short film continuing the story that was introduced by the Olivier Dahan directed “Lady Noire Affair”. The planned “Lady Rouge Affaire” short film would have been released at the end of 2009.
The emblematic photographer Annie Leibovitz presented a story though her work. It is an encounter between two women in the world’s most theatrical city, New York. Under the sign of the colour red, the brand’s mythical shade, the daring side of Lady Dior is emphased. Driven by passion and mystery, Lady Red reveals her many faces.
Lady Dior: Shanghai – Lady Blue
Spring/Summer 2010
The print ads were shot by Steven Klein and featured Marion Cotillard as Lady Blue in the skyline of Shanghai and its Oriental Pearl Tower. The short film, called Sequences, was directed by David Lynch. In an extra video, Marion is reciting a poem that John Galliano –that time’s chief designer– wrote, entitled “It Holds The Love”, which was inspired by the Pearl Tower. The words and building fuse in the picture he paints on screen.
Why Shanghai and why the Pearl Tower?
John Galliano: In each city we chose an iconic location that not only was very symbolic of the city, but also mirrored the Dior canage technique that defines the Lady Dior bag itself. Shanghai is such a vibrant and inspiring city – plus it’s where we will be staging our Cruise 2010 collection. I wanted to pick cities that had a link with Dior, as well as a link with style… Dior is global what better way than these collaborations to show it!
“She has got that modern quality and old quality that I think the great ones have always.”
- David Lynch about Marion Cotillard
Lady Dior: London – Lady Grey
Fall/Winter 2010/2011
Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott shot Marion in London holding a gray version of the Lady Dior bag wearing Dior’s cruise collection aboard the London Eye.
The short film was shot by John Cameron Mitchell who was worked with the fashion house in the past. Sir Ian McKellen also stars as a wheel-bound suitor to Cotillard, whom Mitchell compares to “a cross between a burlesque dancer, Mary Poppins, and Jesus”. The music was by Canadian musician Hawksley Workman.
Lady Moscow
Spring/Summer 2011
With the saga “One Woman – Four Cities” being officially, the fashion house renewed its collaboration with Marion and created a new print ad. The ad was shot by photographer Craig McDean. The setting is officially Moscow in Russia as we can see St. Basil’s Cathedral through the window but it was taken a while back on a set in Paris because Marion Cotillard wasn’t able to travel to Russia. The print campaign coincided with a major Christian Dior exhibition at the Pushkin Museum in Moscow as well as with the reopening of its luxed-up Stoleshnikov boutique. Interestingly, Moscow was rumored to be the city featured in the 4th chapter of the Dior saga.
A live performance at the opening of the 'Inspiration Dior' exhibition at the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow by the Ukranian artist Kseniya Simonova was held. The performance was inspired by John Cameron Mitchell's concept.
Miss Dior
Fall/Winter 2011/2012
The new campaign for the Miss Dior handbag was shot in Paris. The campaign was photographed by Mikael Jansson.
Lady Dior: Los Angles – L.A. dy Dior
Fall/Winter 2011/2012
The actress this time traveled to Los Angeles to pose for photographer Steven Klein at a groovy house by architect John Lautner. She is seen clutching a Lady Dior bag in multicolored crocodile, with a swimming pool and the Hollywood hills in the background.
John Cameron Mitchel directed a short film starring Marion Cotillard that is taking place in Los Angeles. This is the first comedy in the series of Dior short films and that it is inspired by a 1973 short film by Richard Avedon and starring Lauren Hutton.
Lady Dior Paris
Spring/Summer 2012
Christian Dior is the latest fashion player to have infiltrated the Communist Party Headquarters in Paris. The landmark Oscar Niemeyer-designed building serves as a dramatic backdrop for the Lady Dior bag and its ambassador, Marion Cotillard. In it, she clutches a new version of the handbag in crocodile and raffia: the texture echoed in the thousands of metal slats on the domed ceiling of its circular conference room. The ads are lensed by Peter Lindbergh.
Lady Dior: A Web Documentary
On September 3, 2012, the house plans to launch its “Lady Dior, a Web Documentary” series on its site, diormag.com, geared to depict Cotillard’s adventures with the house over the years. The actress can be seen getting ready for the Met Ball, signing autographs at the Cannes International Film Festival and visiting the house’s couture atelier to watch a dress commission being made.
Our Lady Mystery is none other than the incomparable Marion Cotillard. In seven exclusive reports, she gives us a sneak peek into the whirlwind that is her artist’s life, from photo shoots to fittings.
Lady Dior: Hamptons – Lady Hamptons
Fall/Winter 2012/2013
After a number of world cities Lady Dior has been to, the destination this time is the Hamptons and photographer Jean-Baptiste Mondino captured the printed ads on the beach.
Lady Dior
Spring/Summer 2013
The new dramatic-looking Lady Dior campaign was shot by Jean-Baptiste Mondino and had a vibe of the Grace Kelly fashion.
by Evangelia Patmali