When former first woman of France Bernadette Chirac gifted a petite black leather-based bag to Princess Diana in 1995, she unknowingly set the stage for the Girl Dior to grow to be one of the iconic purses of all time.
Recognized initially as Chouchou — a French endearment that may be translated to “darling” or “favourite” — the bag was designed by Dior‘s former creative director Gianfranco Ferré in 1994. It usually options the home’s cannage quilting sample, crafted to resemble a rattan weave, and a boxy silhouette that has been reinterpreted season after season.
Princess Diana in a Dior slipdress and a Girl Di Dior bag on the 1996 Met Gala.
The Chouchou was renamed Girl Dior in 1996 as a tribute to Princess Diana. Bernadette Chirac gifted the accent to Diana in 1995, and the royal carried the bag at a number of public engagements, together with at her first Met Gala in New York Metropolis.
French occasion organizer Françoise Dumas instructed the story behind the reward to WWD in 2022, revealing Chirac had requested her to select a present from the Dior boutique for the Princess of Wales. “I had seen a little bit bag, which on the time was made of material, and so I had it wrapped and despatched to the Elysée,” Dumas mentioned.
Dumas phoned Bernard Arnault, the chairman and chief government officer of Dior’s father or mother firm LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, to tell him of her selection. “He mentioned, ‘Recall the bag instantly.’ Why? As a result of he was engaged on a prototype in leather-based. He had it completed in a single day, and the leather-based model was despatched as an alternative,” Dumas mentioned.
Dior’s “Girl Dior Across the World” marketing campaign.
Dior / BRIGITTE NIEDERMAIR
The bag turned generally related to Princess Diana, who, regardless of her royal title, was also known as Girl Diana, a title inherited from her father and used earlier than her marriage to then-Prince Charles in 1981. Dior paid homage to her, naming the bag Girl Dior.
In 2022, Dior reissued the mini Girl Dior purse that was carried by Princess Diana on the Met Gala in 1996. Priced at 5,000 euros, the up to date model of her blue satin bag was out there in a restricted version of 200 items.
Over time, the bag has been reinterpreted in lots of colours, sizes and supplies. Dior’s artistic director Maria Grazia Chiuri has redesigned it in new shades and codecs, from Girl D-Lite to Girl D-Pleasure. Different artists have additionally created their very own Girl Dior design by means of the Girl Dior As Seen By and Dior Girl Artwork tasks.
Dior’s “Girl Dior Across the World” marketing campaign.
Dior / BRIGITTE NIEDERMAIR
For its spring 2025 marketing campaign, Dior took the Girl Dior on a world journey. Shot by Brigitte Niedermair, the photographs present the bag touring from Paris to New York, through London. “The Girl Dior displays the a number of expressions of Dior fashion, by means of the prism of audacity, modernity and self-assertion,” the model mentioned through assertion.
Girl Dior and Movie star Tradition
Dior has a practice of partnering with celebrities to advertise its traditional bag silhouette. Jisoo of Blackpink starred in a Girl Dior marketing campaign in September 2024. Photographed by Bibi Borthwick, the Okay-pop singer sported the bag in footage “embodying an assertive, plural female modernity,” in line with the model.
Jisoo x Girl Dior
DIOR / BIBI BORTHWICK
Rosalía has additionally been a Girl Dior muse, starring in two campaigns for the purse in 2024.
“Once we lastly met, I assumed that she [Rosalía] would make an ideal Dior ambassador due to how she represents a contemporary type of womanhood. Rosalía is a younger creator who makes use of her voice to precise herself, her energy and her creativity, thereby growing a brand new language,” Maria Grazia Chiuri mentioned in 2024.
Rosalía x Girl Dior
Dior / Collier Schorr
Notably, French actress Marion Cotillard was the ambassador of Girl Dior for 9 years, from 2008 to 2017.
Angelina Jolie, Paris Hilton, Emma Roberts, Jennifer Lawrence and Rihanna are among the many stars who’ve been photographed with a Girl Dior bag over time.
The Girl Dior bag was additionally featured in season 5 of the Netflix collection “The Crown,” which showcased Diana’s evolution into a method icon. Totally different kinds of the bag had been additionally seen in “Intercourse and the Metropolis” and “Gossip Lady.”
Dior Girl Artwork Tasks
Since 2016, Dior hosts the Dior Girl Artwork undertaking, an annual initiative the place the Girl Dior purse is reimagined by world artists, who use the bag as a canvas, incorporating their signature kinds and methods.
The ninth version, unveiled in November 2024, featured 11 artists from nations corresponding to China, Peru and France. Previous collaborators embody Religion Ringgold, Mickalene Thomas, Michaela Yearwood-Dan and Jeffrey Gibson.
Jeffrey Gibson’s Girl Dior bag for the Dior Girl Artwork undertaking.
Adriana Lee
The undertaking produces extremely collectible equipment and provides an distinctive alternative for artists to advertise their artwork.
Girl Dior Luggage
CREDIT © LAURA SCIACOVELLI
Dior presently provides about 80 variations of the Girl Dior bag at dior.com with costs various from $5,000 to $10,000, relying on dimension, coloration and elegance. The traditional fashion is crafted in lambskin with Cannage stitching, making a quilted texture, and options gold-finish steel D.I.O.R. charms. It additionally comes with a detachable leather-based shoulder strap, permitting the wearer to hold it by hand or crossbody.
