Gardens have played a pivotal role in the Maison’s olfactory, visual and tactile expressions through its creations. Among Dior’s most celebrated triumphs within the world of fashion is his “founding-couturier,” status, pushing the boundaries of what was deemed possible and aesthetically pleasing for his time. Victoire De Castellane, Creative Director of Dior’s Jewelry, encapsulates that very sentiment with her brilliant design, in a medium that trades threads and textiles for gold, diamonds and the occasional swoon-worthy opal.
Les Jardin de La Couture is a visual ballad of Dior’s botanical universe, with its pieces being a microcosm of his love for florals, his obsession with craftsmanship and the splendour of his sanctuary. The collection’s life-like blooms, defy the rules of jewelry design with their hyperbolically sculptural petals, leaves and vines, resting on a wearer’s decolletage innocently. Still, various pieces mimic appliqué pearl florals that have been typified by the Maison. Moreover, a distinct family of creations within the collection depict a scenic still, featuring flowers and butterflies portrayed as layered gemstones that crawl around one’s neck, fingers and ears.
De Castellane’s genius lies in her ability to mirror nature’s beautifully imperfect form, in a polished yet effortlessly irregular jewelry design. From the movement of her diamond tassel pieces, to the kisses of light reflected by her lustrous diamond collars, Victoire has impeccably fused a contemporary heat into one of jewelry’s most fêted inspirations – nature. The creative director’s notorious love and use of coloured stones, amplify the dreaminess of her creations. Specifically, her inventive setting and positioning of hypnotic opals within the jewelry, allows wearers to relish in the gemstone’s kaleidoscopic light performance.
The floral assemblage, encompasses jewelry’s favoured sorcery – that is witnessing the many lives that a single piece is able to take on. With a click of a clasp, a ring may transform into a brooch or an earring, and the clever encircling of a diamond strand can perch once around the neck as a collier and once around the waist as mesmerising belt. Arguably, one of the most astounding pieces of all, is Dior’s velvet and diamond choker-like anklet. An unfathomably alluring piece. Part fairy tale like, part contemporary chic, fit for a modern dictator of taste. Furthermore, an unexpected trio of creations reside within the 170-piece collection – watch fiends rejoice. An array of hidden-in-disguise style watches manifest in, what appear to look like, harmless botanical bracelets, concealing the ticking of time.
Ultimately, the Maison’s newly released collection, Les Jardin de La Couture, is everything but high nose, high jewelry. Its playfulness owing to its eccentric silhouettes and untamed colourful profile marks the epoch of a lighter and fresher interpretation of the high jewelry category – from conch to the ankle.
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