Lady Dior and its ties to Lady Diana

Dior presents the Lady Dior and its symbolic ties with Lady Diana

A House icon, the Lady Dior handbag is symbolically linked to the story of Lady Diana, Princess of Wales.

In September 1995, while attending the opening of the Paul Cézanne retrospective at the Grand Palais in Paris, the First Lady of France presented her with a brand new Dior bag – then called Chouchou – a creation that had not yet been launched.

Lady Dior and its ties to Lady Diana
© Cherruault/SIPA

In November of the same year, the princess was on an official trip to Argentina: as she exited the plane in Buenos Aires, she appeared carrying the bag she had received as a gift a few weeks earlier; a scene immortalized in a photograph that went around the world.

Lady Dior and its ties to Lady Diana
Diana Princess of Wales visits the National Hospital of Neurology and Neurosurgery in London March 6th-1996. © REX_SIPA

The accessory became one of Lady Di’s must-haves, and she wore it on all her outings. Seduced, she also wanted a navy blue version to match her eye color. Thanks to this exceptional godmother who loved its modern, elegant curves – and simply “because it suited [her] well,” in her own words – this object of desire was officially renamed the ‘Lady Dior’. The legendary status of the iconic bag, with its extraordinary destiny, was sealed.

Lady Dior and its ties to Lady Diana
Diana, The Princess Of Wales In New York. (Photo by Antony Jones/UK Press via Getty Images)

Credits: © Courtesy of Christian Dior Couture