Dior Print: the latest Dior jewelry collection presented in Taormina
The presentation of Dior's latest haute joaillerie collection took place on the first Saturday of June 202. Dior Print is to date Victoire de Castellane's largest haute joaillerie collection. This event was not held in the French capital, but in Taormina, the Sicilian pearl known as the Saint-Tropez of Sicily.
A vast collection of Dior jewelry presented in Sicily
The fact that the French house opened its latest boutique in the main shopping street of the Sicilian seaside resort, Corso Umberto I, is obviously not unrelated to this choice. "Taormina is an incredible and magical place, of unheard-of beauty," Dior CEO and Chairman Pietro Beccari told Vogue. "People talk a lot about Santorini, but Taormina is a notch above."
The presentation of Dior Print jewelry spanned several days. It attracted a significant audience from all over the world. It took place on the grounds of the San Domenico Palace. This is a 14th-century convent converted into a Four Seasons hotel. It was Dior-ified for the occasion with the installation of a display case in the cloister, and displays gathering more than 300 Dior jewelry pieces from other collections inside its former church.
"I am lucky to work with a dream team of 3 incredible creative directors, and I think each of them deserves a global stage," Beccari said, while the presentation of Kim Jones' latest collection took place in Los Angeles. "Victoire was born into fashion. She is authentic, she has an innate talent, she is a genius."
Details of the Dior Print collection
For Dior Print, de Castellane revisited couture themes. This time, she blended her love of color and movement with her favorite printed motifs, such as stripes and flowers. Notably on a flexible Dior necklace of intertwined ribbons. This creative masterpiece from the collection features nearly 54 carats of diamonds. But also emeralds, rubies, multicolored sapphires, tsavorite, Paraiba tourmalines, and red spinel. In total, Dior Print includes no less than 137 pieces.
A mixed jewelry and haute couture presentation
Given that high jewelry is the very essence of couture, de Castellane and Chiuri gave the event an original touch. 40 haute couture pieces designed by Dior's women's collection artistic director were created especially for the occasion. These exclusive garments were also available for purchase. "It was about fostering a dialogue," explained de Castellane. "Presenting jewelry on the Paris runways is simply impossible: models walk too fast, you can't examine the jewelry up close."
According to Beccari, this presentation format should become recurrent. Under his direction, Dior jewelry has moved upmarket, thanks in particular to huge investments in precious stones. This was evident in Taormina. For example, a nearly 22-carat Sri Lankan sapphire and a more than 25-carat Tanzanian spinel were part of the display. The highlight of the show, a 101-carat Asscher-cut flawless D diamond was presented (or rather its replica). The real stone is kept safe in a vault. Its price: over 40 million dollars. According to Beccari, Dior is now playing in the big leagues. Its goal is to challenge the major historical houses in this market.
