FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE LAUNCHING THE ANNUAL DIOR LADY ART PROJECT IN 2016, THE FRENCH MAISON GETS AN ALL-FEMALE CAST OF ARTISTS TO REINTERPRET ITS SIGNATURE TOTE, THE LADY DIOR. IMRAN JALAL SINGLES OUT THE MOST ARTISANAL PIECES AND THE COOL WOMEN BEHIND THEM.
OLGA DE AMARAL
Who: An important figure in the post-war Latin American Abstraction movement, this Colombian artist is feted for her imaginative installations and tactile tapestries. Inspired by ancient pre Colombian textiles and gilded Catholic relics, her large–scale works – mostly made with fibre glass – come to life with paint and indigenous fibres swathed in luminous gold leaf. Her take on the Lady Dior: All four styles reflect her ornate aesthetic. Two – in M – are bedecked in hand-folded strips of cotton pieces doused in 24K yellow gold. The other two – mini bags in gold or silver goat skin – are decorated in exquisite embroidery featuring metallised beads and hand-hammered metal charms.
BURCAK BINGOL
Who: A Turkish-born ceramics guru whose works have been displayed at the world’s top galleries, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Her preoccupation with examining the concepts of belonging, cultural heritage, failure and ornamentation sees her making over gnarled, contorted earthenware with delicate floral paintings. Her take on the Lady Dior: A dark brown patent leather version – available in both regular and mini sizes – gets a surreal jolt of colour with fluorescent floral embroidery boasting a tufted effect. Meanwhile, another Mini Lady Dior is a whimsical mix of modern and classic with white faux fur, blue and metallic embroidery (blooms, of course) and see-through handles.
MORGANE TSCHIEMBER
Who: A Parisian who explores the relationship between “materials, physics and meta physics” by working with sculptures to create experimental and performative art. One of her most acclaimed pieces is 2013’s Shibari series in which she suspended ceramics in the air using ancient Japanese rope-bondage techniques.Her take on the Lady Dior: What else but to bind rope all over two lambskin totes with the brand’s iconic – and tactile – Cannage print so tightly, they take on a sensual, almost womanly shape? The cord knotted around the blush-coloured M-sized number is made of linen, while the one around the black mini version is made of rose gold metal.
POLLY APFELBAUM
Who: A modern-day female – and more playful – alternative to Jackson Pollock, if you will. The Moma- and Whitney-endorsed name is celebrated for her colourful drawings and sculptures that include her infamous “fallen paintings” – installations made with strips of fabrics hand-dyed in eye-popping hues, then strewn on the floor. Her take on the Lady Dior: Her two kaleidoscopic interpretations – one M and one mini – might look similar, but the former is in fact a marquetry of hand-painted lambskin patches, while the latter is all hand-embroidered cotton and silk.
LEE BUL
Who: A celebrated Seoul-based artist known for her daring, futuristic installations with a provocative and political stance. Think an exhibition featuring the stench of rotting fish, a figure of a dead Korean president frozen in a block of ice, and a gigantic Plexiglas Batcave. Her take on the Lady Dior: All three models have been made to appear as if they were born from nature – an M-sized bag stitched with green tie-dyed cotton and silk for a 3D moss effect, a mini one embroidered with textured beads for a similar verdant finish, and a size M that’s swathed in fabric treated to look like stone.
HARUKA KOJIN
Who: A Gen-Y installation artist from Hiroshima whose poetic repertoire has gained the attention of Tokyo’s Museum of Contemporary Art as well as the Singapore Art Museum. Her acclaimed Contact Lens series, for example, played on the optical illusion of colours and patterns created through contorting light through acrylic lenses suspended in the air. Her take on the Lady Dior: There’s a pretty, retro-futuristic feel to the two metallic lambskin Lady Dior totes – one M, one mini – that she’s made over. Like her famous work, both are clad in transparent lenses, while their metal Dior charms are encased in transparent acetate.
MICKALENE THOMAS
Who: Through her exuberant mixed media works that include collages created with enamel, rhinestones and acrylic paint, this Brooklyn-based artist examines ideas around gender and femininity – particularly of African-American women and their sexualised Blaxploitation in ’70s cinema. Her take on the Lady Dior: Reminiscent of her own richly textured works, her interpretation of an M-sized Lady Dior features a complex patchwork of beads, threads and organza against sumptuous black patent calfskin.
