“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. |
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. |