>> Spring 2010 Ad Campaign Casts for Alexander McQueen, Christian Dior, and Chanel: Revealed — After skipping out on a traditional ad campaign last season, it sounds like Christian Dior is bringing it back for Spring 2010 — John Galliano revealed Monday that Karlie Kloss is his girl of choice for the brand. Karl Lagerfeld, meanwhile, is continuing the trio theme from the Spring 2010 Chanel show finale for his campaign cast — menage a trois participants Freja Beha Erichsen and Baptiste Giabiconi are both staying on, with Claudia Schiffer replacing Lara Stone; Lagerfeld plans to shoot the threesome on location in Buenos Aires, marking his first time in Argentina. And word is Nick Knight and Raquel Zimmermann, who worked together to produce the background video for Alexander McQueen's presentation, also collaborated on the designer's forthcoming campaign. [WWD, WWD, WeLoveModels]
Christian Dior
Christian Dior Channels Film Noir for Spring 2010
>> A soundtrack of heavy breathing, a telephone ringing, a gun-shot, and then screaming ladies kicked off the film noir-themed Christian Dior show. Silhouettes of gangsters holding machine guns were projected against a derelict warehouse set swirled with dry ice smoke as Karlie Kloss opened.
John Galliano told Hilary Alexander he was inspired by archive photographs of Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogary in the front row at Dior shows: “She was a regular client of M. Dior and I loved the idea of taking that 1940s Hollywood glamour and making it more contemporary. And I liked the idea of the link between film as an illusion and the illusion of undressed dresses.”
The models' hair was coiffed like Bacall's, the shoes still had platforms — estimated to be 7" high — and the peekaboo lingerie was actually built in to the dresses. Naomi Campbell was expected to attend, but never showed, and Tanya Dziahileva finally made her first appearance this season on the catwalk. But the iconic moment, judging by Tweets, was John Galliano's finale strut down the runway in fedora and trench coat with metal collar, complete with dry ice and explosions.
Christian Dior Decides to Do Without Traditional Ad Campaign for Fall 2009
>> For those holding out for Christian Dior's Fall 2009 campaign — since most other major brands have revealed their seasonal ads at this point — you're setting yourself up for a big disappointment. The brand — which posted a loss in profits last week — decided to forego a traditional ad campaign this season because Dior CEO Sidney Toledano found the formula "wanting," according to WWD.
Instead, the advertising budget — an undisclosed number — was poured into a new set of the Lady Dior handbag campaign featuring Marion Cotillard. The original set, photographed by Peter Lindbergh, started running last November and a new set with Cotillard as "Lady Red," snapped by Annie Leibovitz, has been appearing in magazines starting since the August issues (above). A sequel to Cotillard's short film for the brand, which hit the Internet in May, is planned for December.
Toledano seemed satisfied in May with the brand's move toward using more star power and away from seasonal campaigns that typically feature models: “Now we have to give more meaning. People are looking for iconic products and they want to see a product representing the values of a company.”
John Galliano Shows a Little Garter for Fall 2009 Christian Dior Couture
>> Instead of the normal tent venue at Jardin de Tuileries in Paris, John Galliano moved his Fall 2009 couture show — which played twice-over for the first time in a number of seasons — to the upstairs salons of Dior flagship in Paris. The models wound their way through the considerably smaller venue — which apparently got a little warm — to a soundtrack of giggling girls, allowing the audience to see the garments closer than usual.
The decision to go with a more intimate venue was not for cost-cutting purposes, according to Dior CEO Sidney Toledano, who said it was just as expensive to show in-house, what with the 4,000 roses decorating the runway; rather, it was to express the spirit of couture. He maintained that Dior's couture sales in London alone are seeing a double-digit increase — perhaps that's why Galliano felt able to send down undergarment-revealing looks — "I call it 'cabine' fever!" — inspired by archive photographs from the '50s of Christian Dior in the midst of backstage mayhem.
Even in these times, there was still a feeling of excess — the final tulle gowns required two ushers to help the models and dresses through the doorway — and the label claimed model exclusives, including Chanel Iman. But there was still an element of practicality — clients will be able to order the jackets with matching skirts, skirts with matching jackets, or request sheer skirts to be lined. Now the question remains: where was Anna Wintour?
>> Dior To Show Twice at Couture, Lacroix's Early Collection Reviews "Glowing"—Despite Vogue only sending a "very small" team and Elle sending two people — creative director Joe Zee and executive accessories editor Kate Davidson Hudson — John Galliano is planning to show his Fall 2009 Dior couture collection twice because he's using a smaller location this year. Meanwhile, Carlos Souza is inaugurating his return to Valentino with a big bash post-show, and early reports of Christian Lacroix's "fightback" couture collection are "pretty glowing." [FWD]
Marc Jacobs's Wedding Could Be Any Time; Katie Grand Is Engaged
>> Out of his three total nominations, Marc Jacobs ended up only taking home his shoo-in International Award, but he seemed pleased, accepting the award with teary eyes and stating that he'll stay at Louis Vuitton "as long as they'll have me . . . I love the company, and the people I work with there are terrific."
Awards aside, he's got another big — and more personal — event on the horizon: His wedding to Lorenzo Martone, which is supposed to be happening this month. He confirmed last night that they are "still planning on Provincetown," one of their favorite vacation spots in Cape Cod, Massachusetts where Jacobs's business partner, Robert Duffy, has a seaside home, but is remaining mum on the exact date. Some locals even thought the festivities took place last weekend.
Christian Dior Goes Low-Key for Cruise 2010, Back Home for Couture
>> Dior announced today that it would be showing John Galliano's latest couture confections in its own headquarters at 30 Avenue Montaigne for the first time in a decade. The Fall 2009 presentation takes place on July 6, with one show for clients and another for press; the past few seasons, Dior has erected a tent in the gardens of the Rodin Museum for couture shows.
CEO Sidney Toledano denied that the change had anything to do with cost-cutting, but rather was a move to underscore the brand's heritage: “We want to do it in this house again to feel at Dior. We really want to transport the spirit."
A statement like that is hard to believe after the hoopla surrounding today's Dior Cruise 2010 show — which was nonexistent, compared to its counterpart last year, with its full-blown runway production and front row packed with the likes of Jennifer Lopez and Charlize Theron. The Cruise 2010 collection, as seen below, was inspired by Christian Dior's muse, Mitzah Bricard, and her favorite accessories — pearls, turbans, and stilettos.
Full Video: Marion Cotillard in Dior's The Lady Noire Affair
>> Tod's enlisted Gwyneth Paltrow for a Dennis Hopper-directed short film showcasing their Pashmy bag late last year, and now another luxury brand is trying the same big-name actress, big-name director formula to showcase their own bestselling handbag. Tomorrow, Dior officially launches their six and a half minute thriller, "The Lady Noire Affair," which reunites Marion Cotillard with her La vie en rose director Olivier Dahan and showcases the Lady Dior handbag, but we've got the full video right here, all dim cinematography and foot chases on the Eiffel Tower.
Accompanying print ads will run in lieu of the traditional, seasonal Dior campaign, because Dior CEO Sidney Toledano finds the formula wanting, and at the end of "The Lady Noire Affaire," the next film and print segment for Fall 2009, "Lady Rouge," is teased with Marion appearing almost unrecognizable as a blonde in a lace gown. "Lady Rouge" will be shot in New York.
Cannes Film Festival 2009: Carine Roitfeld Appearances, Chanel Movie Screenings, and Lily Cole Film Debuts
>> While fashion types are currently migrating to Venice for tomorrow's Chanel Cruise 2010 show — Karl Lagerfeld arrived Monday with Baptiste Giabiconi and his runway favorites Siri Tollerod, Heidi Mount, Liu Wen, Charlotte di Calypso, and Denisa Dvorakova are all already in town for fittings and the dinner Karl's hosting tonight — many are continuing on to the Cannes Film Festival, which opened today.
In fact, the Chanel theme carries over in Cannes — Jan Kounen’s Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky, starring Anna Mouglalis and Mads Mikkelsen, screens May 24, the closing day. In between now and then, Carine Roitfeld — as well as Donatella Versace and Kenneth Cole — will make her annual appearance at amfAR's Cinema Against AIDS benefit on May 21 at the Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc, which also features an exhibition by photographer Bruce Weber.
>> INSIDER WIRE —Yesterday, a blind item circulated about a major publication letting their contract with a star photographer near the end without renewal — many drew the conclusion that it might be talking about Steven Meisel, who has photographed every cover of Vogue Italia for almost twenty-one years. However, a source who seems to know the ins and outs of Meisel — including that he turned down shooting the Missoni, Christian Dior, Max Mara, and DSquared2 campaigns for Fall 2009 because of money, and that he recently shot the Roberto Cavalli campaign in New York with two girls and a boy — says it's not him. Perhaps it's Annie Leibovitz (Vanity Fair, Vogue) or Mario Testino (Vogue)? [TFS, TFS, TFS]
Graeme Black
Rm By Roland Mouret
Antica Murrina Veneziana