On Lake Como, Dior Unveils a “Couture Garden”

In her 28 years as creative director of Dior jewelry, Victoire de Castellane has plumbed Christian Dior’s personal lexicon, transforming the lace, ribbons, fabrics, pleating, draping, silhouettes, and sundry other trappings of couture into gems. Often, she has revisited the founding couturier’s loves, like architecture, the glories of 18th-century French style, and Versailles in particular. But Monsieur Dior’s lifelong passion for gardens predated even his love for fashion and the decorative arts, having taken root at his childhood home in Granville, Normandy. (Later in the wake of his success it would flourish at his homes in Milly-la-Forêt and at the Chateau de la Colle Noire in the South of France.) Fast forward to 2023 and those onetime gardens returned as the theme for Castellane’s biggest high jewelry outing to date—some 170 pieces in all, including three watches.

On the banks of Lake Como on Saturday night, her floral themes fused with fashion in a spectacular way, further blurring the lines between couture and high jewelry. Standing on the steps of the grandiose Villa Erba facing the water, new Dior CEO Delphine Arnault greeted guests including Oscar-winner Michelle Yeoh and fellow actresses Elizabeth Debicki, Rosamund Pike, Anais Demoustier, and Aseel Omran; ambassadresses including Beatrice Borromeo and Yuma Kim; and dozens of VIP clients from all over the world.

“I think if Monsieur Dior were alive today, he would do exactly your creations and he would be so proud of you,” Arnault said to Castellane in a welcome speech before a lavish sit-down dinner orchestrated by the multi-starred chef Enrico Bartolini. Tablescapes by Cordelia de Castellane of Dior Maison were designed thematically for each salon in a stately home once owned by the legendary filmmaker Luchino Visconti (more recently, its Rococo rooms served as a backdrop for Ocean’s Twelve).

As last year, there followed a runway presentation featuring 41 looks and many of the whopping 300 creations from collections past and present, but this time the show came with a new twist. In lieu of understated foils in black and nude came what Monsieur Dior might have called “dancing dresses” designed by Maria Grazia Chiuri, creative director of Dior’s women’s collections, with colorful embroideries by Lesage and the Chanakya School of Craft. In counterpoint came minimalist, tailored white suits accessorized with diamond riviere necklaces and even belts.