Other main chapters include ‘Les Jardins’, exploring Christian Dior’s early love of flowers to the Lily of the Valley or muguet becoming his House’s symbol, or ‘Les Masculins’, menswear-inspired hats first introduced by Marc Bohan in the 1960s. In one particular chapter titled ‘Les Fêtes’, Stephen Jones retraces Christian Dior’s love for costumes and work for Parisian theatre productions. At the time, his silhouettes were always punctuated by a hat. Today, this love for costume is carried out by Maria Grazia Chiuri, who also incorporated millinery in her designs for the ballet Nuit Blanche at the Teatro Dell’Opera in Rome. Inspired by Mr. Dior’s famous quote, “without the party my dresses have no meaning”, French author Natasha Fraser-Cavassoni tells the story of ‘Les Catherinettes’, the couture tradition celebrating 25-year-old bachelors and bachelorettes with a green & yellow hat contest that many houses, and Dior in particular, have kept alive over the years.
In these stories, the name of Mizza Bricard, Christian Dior’s friend, muse, and first hat designer, becomes a regular occurence. Her strong influence and captivating persona are decrypted by Dean Rhys Morgan in a dedicated chapter. With words from Vincent Leret, Head of Heritage at Christian Dior Parfums, the book further explores the importance of hats in the making of the Dior beauty advertising visuals, notably with the launch of the first Rouge Dior in the early 1960s. Essentially, Stephen Jones himself summarises the book’s scope: “This book is really not about where Dior hats are coming from, but where they are going to.”
Dior Hats! From Christian Dior to Stephen Jones is now available in a selection of Dior boutiques, bookstores and online here.