Dior has become the latest iconic brand to produce a high-fashion film to secure its status as an über-brand. The first episode of this Dior series exploded on the internet in the last couple of days, in typical cult fashion style. The series follows the exploits of the mysterious Lady Noire, played by beautiful French actress Marion Cotillard and her stylish co-star, the Lady Dior bag. It seems to us that the fashion world is having a love-affair with the film set: the Dior episodes are just the latest in a recent spate of fashion-focused films including the feature length Coco Avant Chanel with Audrey Tautou and the Chanel No 5 advert also starring the French actress. Added to the recent couture action on the Cannes carpet, it seems film has never been more fashionable.
The stunning Marion Cotillard, of La Vie En Rose fame, is the perfect sultry brunette to star in Dior’s ‘fashion thriller’ type storyline. She’s playing a femme fatale character seen on the streets of Paris (in fabulous straight-from-the catwalk heels, naturally) and looking for a room where inside a man is tied up. There are other Bond Villian-ish characters and some great 1950s horror movie music but of course, the storyline is irrelevant to the main attraction – Cotillards arm candy, the iconic Lady Dior bag.
As well as the Dior accessories, all of the costumes were made by John Galliano, who is proud of his Dior muse and new leading lady. “We wanted to capture the glamour, the intrigue, the heroine…Marion has brought the Dior woman to life. She is incredible.”
Since winning an Oscar for her portrayal of Edith Piaf in La Vie En Rose, Cotillard has shot to the top of the fashion radar, seen on the red carpet in a parade of couture gowns and on the front row of all the best fashion week shows. She is already the star of the Dior accessories campaign for the Lady Dior bag which is also based around mysterious glances, sultry colours and a Hitchcock-esque ambience that the film also captures. There may be little point to such a big-budget advertising campaign (but when has the fashion industry ever worried about being OTT?) however it has certainly captured the ‘it’ factor of using actresses in their true film environment to promote luxury products in true recession-defying style. But seeing as Dior has always been the label of glamour and indulgence, we wouldn’t expect anything less. Apparently the next instalment will be based around a character called Lady Rouge, also played by Cotillard. We’ll just grab our Galliano dress and our own Dior Lady bag and we’ll see you in Paris!
Carli Humphries
