| Type | Handbag |
|---|---|
| Inventor | Gianfranco Ferré |
| Inception | 1994 (1994) |
| Manufacturer | Christian Dior SE |
| Available | Yes |
| Website | https://www.dior.com/en_us/fashion/womens-fashion/bags/handbags?collection_filter=Lady%20Dior  |
Lady Dior is a commercial name given to a handbag by theChristian Dior company in honor ofDiana, Princess of Wales. It was designed byGianfranco Ferré in 1994 under the nameChouchou, and was later renamed asPrincesse before being renamed asLady Dior. French actressMarion Cotillard was the ambassador ofLady Dior for nine years, from 2008 to 2017, even designing her own handbag for the brand in 2012.
In 1995,[1][2]Bernadette Chirac wished to giveDiana, Princess of Wales, a unique handbag on the occasion of her visit to Paris. When France's first lady contacted Dior in her search for such a bag, the House offered her a model designed byGianfranco Ferré in 1994,[3] unofficially namedChouchou ("favorite" in French) at the time.[4] It was officially renamed asPrincesse in the short term.[1]
The bag, black in color, was presented to the former Lady Diana at the inauguration of the Cézanne[5][N 1] exhibition at the Grand Palais. It was often photographed[5][8] carried by Diana at public events:[2] she had it with her in Birmingham during an official visit; again a few weeks later during a stay in Argentina;[9] then on several further occasions.[10][11] Her accessories also signified true appreciation of luxury, beyond expected brands to be worn by a British princess, and her personal relationships with the world's most prestigious houses.[12] It was soon being described as "iconic",[5] and "legendary", and was launched in larger series, with its name changed to Lady Dior.[1][4] Two hundred thousand models were sold in two years[13] and Dior's leather goods turnover increased tenfold.[14] The bag in turn gave its name to a watch in 1999 and inspired a makeup product byParfums Christian Dior.[15][16]
In June 2025, Dior unveiled a reimagined version of the Lady Dior handbag, a collaboration between Dior's new creative directorJonathan Anderson and textile artistSheila Hicks;[17] the handbag made its debut at Anderson’s Spring Summer 2026, his inaugural collection for the Dior.
Lady Dior is a handbag that adopts Dior's graphic codes and is generally decorated with acannage[N 2] (caning) motif inspired by two items of furniture found in Dior's private mansion on Avenue Montaigne since 19473: theNapoléon III chairs on which the couturier seated the guests at his runway shows, and the back of a neo-Louis XVI medallion armchairLouis XV.[21] The bag is composed of one hundred and forty four pieces in total[4] and is rectangular and rigid, with the four gold- or silver-tone D-I-O-R letters and the Dior logo suspended from the handle as charms. It is available in different materials featuring various techniques (leather, velvet,microfiber, satin, denim, python, crocodile, tweed, jacquard, etc.), and in several sizes.[1]
An iteration of the bag called Lady D-Lite was introduced by the fashion house in 2019, which features a reversible and removable shoulder strap.[22] It was notably carried by Diana's daughter-in-law,Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, at an event in 2021.[23]Queen Camilla has also carried Lady Dior bags on at least two separate occasions.[24][25]
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Chosen by designerJohn Galliano,[26] French actressMarion Cotillard became the face of Lady Dior in 2008,[27][1] a role she played until 2017.[28]
In addition to multiple publications in the press photos byPeter Lindbergh,Craig McDean,Tim Walker andJean-Baptiste Mondino,[29] Cotillard starred in several short film commercials, mainly intended to be released on the internet.[30] The first wasThe Lady Noire Affair, directed byOlivier Dahan,[31] followed byLady Rouge byJonas Åkerlund.[32] The latter followed a series of photos byAnnie Leibovitz.[32] Next cameLady Blue Shanghai, a sixteen-minute film directed byDavid Lynch.[33] Two more films were directed byJohn Cameron Mitchell in 2011;Lady Grey London,[34] a seven-minutesilent film co-starringIan McKellen,[35] andL.A.dy Dior.[36] Cotillard recalled, "I suggested this director [Mitchell] to Dior. They didn't know him, but they haven't wanted to let him go since!"[37]
The CEO of Christian Dior Couture,Sidney Toledano, said of these short films that the "strategic objective is to make people dream by telling beautiful stories".[26]
In 2012, Cotillard starred in the web-seriesLady Dior Web Documentary, and wrote and performed the song "Lily's Body" for one episode. She also designed her own handbag for Lady Dior, the "360° bag".[38]
In 2014, Cotillard wrote and co-directed alongside Eliott Bliss,[39] a music video for her song "Snapshot in LA", especially for Lady Dior's campaign "Enter The Game – Dior Cuise 2015".[40][41]
Organized by Dior, a touring exhibition six years in the making[42] and entitled Lady Dior As Seen By traveled to China,[43] Japan,[42] Italy,[43][44] and Brazil from 2012 onwards. It presented over a hundred works by photographers – the likes ofPatrick Demarchelier,Bruce Weber andEllen Von Unwerth[45] – visual artists, sculptors, designers and painters,[5] all inspired by the Lady Dior bag. As all the collaboration with famous artists, Lady Dior has been seen as the bond of art and fashion.[46]
In 2022, the bag was featured in the season five of theNetflix seriesThe Crown carried by actressElizabeth Debicki, who portrayedDiana, Princess of Wales.[47]
L'épouse du président de la République française, Bernadette Chirac, souhaitait offrir à la princesse Diana un sac exceptionnel, différent de tout ce que l'on voyait alors. […] Lady Diana […] s'en empara avec la plus grande joie, pour ne plus le quitter. […] Lady Diana […] emporte partout son Lady Dior, le faisant, dès sa naissance, entrer dans le panthéon des classiques.
The story behind the Lady Dior bag is the closest we'll get to a real life fairytale – after all, it involves a princess! Apparently, in 1995, France's then First Lady Bernadette Chirac, gifted Lady Diana with the latest creation from the House of Dior.
Le Lady Dior est depuis dix ans un indétrônable best-seller de la maison de l'avenue Montaigne.
Le Lady Dior, le sac iconique de la maison éponyme créé en 1995. […] Jamais sac n'aura été autant photographié au bras de sa royale propriétaire.
Aux entrées payées par les visiteurs vient s'ajouter une autre source importante de financement: le mécénat. L'exposition Cézanne bénéficie du soutien du groupe LVMH.
Rude journée pour la princesse de Galles : après avoir pris le thé à l'Élysée avec Mme Jacques Chirac, elle inaugurait, en compagnie du couple présidentiel et de M. et Mme Bernard Arnault, l'exposition Cézanne réalisée au Grand-palais grâce au soutien de LVMH et de Christian Dior.
Un cadeau qui restera dans les mémoires de la mode : le premier Lady Dior, sac devenu iconique.
During her visit […] in Birmingham, Princess Diana was photographed sporting the bag by the worldwide press […]. A few weeks later in Argentina, during an official visit, she once again was snapped holding her favourite bag.
Un sac pour Lady Di ! La Princesse Grace ne sera pas la seule à en avoir un à son nom. Gianni Versace y a pensé et vient d'en dédicacer un à la Princesse de Galles, qui s'appellera 'le Lady Di', en forme de boîte carrée un peu comme celui qu'elle porte partout en ce moment, cadeau de Mme Chirac. Un modèle matelassé de Dior, à deux anses et pampilles-initiales.
Le petit sac matelassé baptisé Lady Dior […] a dépassé les 200 000 exemplaires depuis son lancement.[permanent dead link]
Depuis le mois de novembre 1995, le chiffre de ventes de la maroquinerie de Christian Dior a été multiplié par dix, et cela uniquement à cause du modèle 'Lady Dior'.
Aujourd'hui, c'est une palette de fards pour les yeux proposée en édition limitée et numérotée qui s'inspire de cet accessoire emblématique.
Dior lance cet adorable poudrier reproduisant à l'exact le mythique sac Lady.
Chez Christian Dior, le cannage traverse l'histoire de la maison : au 30, avenue Montaigne, les régiments de chaises dorées à cannage Napoléon III ont accueilli les élégantes dès le premier défilé. C'est ainsi que le motif fut introduit dans la maison.
Très vite, le cannage que l'on trouve sur les chaises dorées des salons devient un motif iconique.
Le motif 'cannage' de Dior, dont l'origine vient des chaises cannelées que Christian Dior lui-même utilisait les jours de défilé haute couture. Le sac cannage a déjà fait du chemin cet hiver et il fera des kilomètres ce printemps en cuir verni, en agneau ou en satin, dans des tons acidulés rosé, turquoise ou en beige et blanc, en micro- sac ou en vanity-case. Le modèle vedette s'appelle le 'Lady Dior'.
Pour porter la communication du sac Lady Dior, John [Galliano] a pensé à Marion Cotillard. […] Derrière l'objectif de notoriété et de vente […], Dior compte renforcer la relation directe avec ses clientes
Marion Cotillard incarne désormais Lady Hampton […] pour une campagne de pub shootée par le célèbre photographe Jean-Baptiste Mondino.
Ainsi, Dior a produit une série de courts-métrages, Lady Dior, et fait appel à David Lynch, Olivier Dahan ou plus récemment John Cameron Mitchell.
Le sac icône porté par Marion Cotillard est le héros d'une campagne cinématographique sur Internet.
Après une première campagne réalisée par Peter Lindbergh […], Marion Cotillard réinterprète le rôle de Lady Dior pour une nouvelle publicité signée Annie Leibovitz.
Directed by David Lynch, the third installment of the Lady Dior online handbag saga is a highly stylized and mysterious short film.
L'actrice française s'envole pour Londres dans une campagne réalisée par John Cameron Mitchell et intitulée "Lady Grey London".
L'aventure chez Dior, c'est aussi qu'ils ont fait mon éducation mode, ils m'ont éveillée à un monde que j'ignorais, à commencer par une vraie fascination pour Monsieur Christian Dior.
La maison française a dévoilé quelque quatre-vingts photos et sculptures réalisées par des artistes autour de son sac emblématique.
For a project that was born two years ago in Shanghai and has subsequently stopped in Beijing and Tokyo.
L'iconica borsa, amata da tutte le grandi donne del fashion system e non è stata reintepretata da artisti.
La maison Dior a imaginé un mini-site en hommage au mythique sac Lady Dior.