An exquisite homage to nature emerges in the Dior Diorama & Diorigami high jewellery collection

Dior Artistic Director Joaillerie Victoire de Castellane has unveiled the Diorama & Diorigami high jewellery collection, inspired by the beauty of nature. Learn more about the collection below.

At the heart of the cloister of the basilica of Santa Maria Novella in Florence – a Gothic jewel and ultimate emblem of the Florentine Renaissance – Artistic Director of Dior Joaillerie Victoire de Castellane unveiled the first chapter of her new high jewellery collection, entitled Diorama & Diorigami.

A luxuriant garden fragrant with roses and orange blossoms in Tuscany offered the setting for the presentation of the ‘Diorama’ high jewellery chapter, celebrating the faceted beauty of nature that was always so dear to Monsieur Dior. For the first time, Victoire de Castellane revisited toile de Jouy, an iconic Dior code since 1947, sublimating it with enchanting flora and fauna. Owls, deer, and squirrels – sometimes tucked behind bushes – inhabited a marvelous forest where the figurative art of Dior haute joaillerie unfolded in infinite detail and wonderfully vibrant tableaus sketched with radiantly hued gemstones.

This fantastical setting was further enhanced by Maria Grazia Chiuri’s Dior silhouettes, couture odes to a sparkling dolce vita: neo-sixties Capri pants, irresistible Bar bustiers, sumptuous woven jacquards, moiré failles, skirts in shimmering nuances – a fascinating dialogue translating this imaginary journey from Paris to Florence. It’s a virtuoso symbiosis of the arts, daydreams, and the excellence of Dior savoir-faire.

Dior’s iconic codes have embellished Victoire de Castellane’s jewellery creations since 1999, providing infinite sources of inspiration. This year, the Artistic Director perpetuates that rich heritage with an unprecedented collection that’s a subtle interlude between yesterday and today, refinement and voluptuousness.

Inaugurating this prodigious odyssey, the unmistakably highlight of the first chapter of the line (‘Diorama’) saw the emblematic toile de Jouy being reinterpreted. That dreamy motif, an expression of French art de vivre and a symbol of the 18th century, was a key factor in Christian Dior’s dazzling success. When his original boutique, Colifichets, was furnished, the walls, counters and even the canopy were dressed in this exceptional ornamental fabric.

With a new take on this fabulously illustrated universe, little frescoes were magnified by combinations of hues and volumes, unveiling mesmerising décor, punctuated by poetic flora and fauna: a golden rabbit leaps into a bush paved with  scintillating diamonds, while two owls flutter amid branches adorned with flamboyant rubies, and majestic swans appear at the heart of a pond bordered by sparkling  blue sapphires.

The magical settting also featured a fox, a  squirrel and a deer, all distinguished by the intensity of chrysoprase. Completing this marvelous theatre, yellow and rose gold foliage mingles with luxuriant shrubbery and flowerbeds studded with jewels resembling delicate petals. The final surprises – heralding the second story, ‘Diorigami’ – are a necklace, a ring, and elegant earrings, which in turn portray flourishing greenery, enhancing this sumptuous selection.

The fruit of outstanding savoir-faire, the pieces embody the virtuosity of the Dior ateliers, crafted using the ancestral technique of glyptics, engraving, or sculpting precious stones. In a succession of precise gestures, the artisans carve the elements, affixing them one by one, bringing to life a multitude of captivating landscapes forming a veritable Eden. Dior Joaillerie’s signature laquer also brings out the nuances of these enchanting tableaus, revealing vibrant shades such as the deep green of emeralds harmonised with the softer verdant tones of tsavorite garnets.

The collection, consisting of 172 creations, is at once an ode to the splendours of the natural world, and a nod to the creative inspirations that have always been so deeply embedded in Dior’s DNA. Some two years in the making, the collection also boasts the largest numbers of precious gemstones ever used in a single Dior high jewellery collection.

This article was first published in Prestige Malaysia