Ever since the “reissue” of Lady Dior Blue Shanghai, the Lady Dior bag is back with a vengeance….and a new added twist to it. Well, alright, perhaps “reissue” is the wrong word, because the Lady Dior bag, a favourite of the late Princess Diana, never really disappeared from the shelves of Maison Dior, but was instead put in the backseat while Galliano concentrated on and promoted seasonal styles and shapes instead of the Lady Dior. But since last year, we saw a resurgence in Lady Dior: massive promotional and marketing campaigns for Lady Blue Shanghai, Lady Rouge, and the other “Ladies”, including 3 short films directed by David Lynch – all of which helped to revive interest in the iconic classic.

For Dior’s Spring/Summer 2011, the Lady Dior dominated the runway – in different textures, bold colours and materials. From printed canvas with what seemed like kaleidoscopic motifs and what seemed like a jute version (perhaps another similar coarse material – think potato sack) with the cannage embroidered onto the bag; to a version is striped python. What Galliano also seems to do for this collection is perhaps to also try to make the Lady Dior more appealing to a younger market, by adding a crossbody strap onto the iconic classic, thus transforming the bag from being something for “ladies who lunch” into something more relevant, more current, and more youthful.

Sling bags with fringe in contrasting colours were also spotted on the runway, perhaps in the spirit of the “Hawaiian” vibe that Galliano was said to have been influenced by for this collection. Or at least, those are the only bags that seem to tie in with the island theme, with the fringe that resembles the grass skirts on the hula girls.
Puffy-esque shoulder bags (that converted into crossbody style) were also spotted, and, to me, those reminded me of the Chanel Cocoon when turned inside out.

The Verdict: I’m not really feeling this collection. I’ve never been a fan of the Lady Dior – those flat handles are not comfortable at all on the arm, not to mention, impractical because the zipper closure doesn’t open fully, making it hard to retrieve stuff! And as for the other styles, it’s too bulky. The fringe bags also remind me of the Limited Edition Monogram Multicoloure Bucket bag with the multicoloured suede fringe that Marc Jacobs did for Vuitton some years back.


Images via Style