The lore of the Lady Dior is truly an interesting one. The design and final product of this iconic bag silhouette was conceived back in 1994. Back then, its journey commenced as the ‘Chouchou’, which in French translates to ‘favourite’. The bag was conceived by Dior’s artistic director at the time, Gianfranco Ferre. Understandably, the piece was utterly exclusive at the time, so much so that it made the perfect gift for the world’s favourite princess. In September 1995, France’s First Lady, Bernadette Chirac, gifted the unreleased bag, in a chic and shiny black, to Princess Diana at the Grand Palais in Paris in the midst of a Cezanne exhibition. Princess Diana found herself utterly enamoured by the then-exclusive Dior piece – who can blame her, the signature Cannage quilting pattern inspired by the Napolean III chairs are to-date, more than enough to steal anyone’s heart. And we know for a fact that this was no passing fancy, for she carried it quite literally everywhere she went – this included innumerable walks across tarmacs, an official visit to Liverpool as well as the 1996 Met Gala.
