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© Sunset Boulevard/Getty Images

no dior,
no DIETRICH!

From the silver screen to the red carpet, the greatest actresses have always dressed in dior, starting with marlene dietrich. here, a spotlight on the eternal bond uniting dior with the goddess of the seventh art.

“No Dior, no Dietrich!” proclaimed Marlene Dietrich to Alfred Hitchcock in 1950, prior to the filming of Stage Fright. A loyal and devoted friend of the couturier – whom she met through Jean Cocteau – the star stipulated, contractually and for the sake of the role, the creation of a Dior wardrobe. Despite objections on the part of the director and the production company, she eventually got her way. That tour de force epitomized the passionately steadfast complicity between the two, starting right from the House’s earliest days.

It all began on 12 February 1947, at Christian Dior’s historic first  show; the actress was already among the privileged guests who discovered the indispensable New Look. It was love at first sight, and Marlene Dietrich immediately incorporated Dior refinement into her unique, timeless and audacious style. Dazzling with mystique, she dared to play up contrasts, moving easily from men’s suiting and military garb to stunning dresses. In Paris, Monsieur Dior also adapted his silhouettes to her wishes, even going so far as to add a garter belt to the Précieuse dress from the H line.

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© Association Willy Maywald/ADAGP, Paris, 2024

In 1951, she presented the Oscar for Best Foreign Film dressed in an embroidered black Dior sheath, revealing her legs – the quintessence of glamour. Perfumed with the scent Diorama, Marlene Dietrich dazzled and fascinated; years later, she would become an inspirational figure for John Galliano, who dedicated several of his Dior creations to her.

Today, that admiration is perpetuated by Maria Grazia Chiuri, who has transposed the legend’s signature garçonne allure and fantastical presence into a selection of looks for the Dior Fall 2024 collection, paying homage to the close ties between Paris and New York, two iconic fashion capitals. The soupçon of scandal, a veritable ode to freedom, that accompanied Dietrich’s androgynous style is a profound source of inspiration for the Creative Director, who views it as a symbol of self-affirmation: the choice of any woman to dress as she pleases, with, for example, a tie or a vest. A singular attitude that flouts convention and genres as the ultimate expression of elegance.

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