words by DEBORAH DRENOFCI
In this holiday season we are getting a collective present which seems like a beautiful, whimsical snowball wrapped in child-like wonder, imagination, and a return to creativity. This time it is Dior giving us this precious gift through the animated short film by award-winning French filmmaker Sylvain Chomet called Christian Dior’s Night in Colour. Beyond the celebration of imagination and the meticulous craftsmanship of all art forms, the film acts as a fitting reference to Jonathan Anderson’s influences for the Dior Cruise 2027 Collection, namely his fascination with the transition of cinema from black-and-white to Technicolor. A short film full of joy, and more importantly a tribute to the history of the house.
The story is inspired by crucial moments of Dior’s history, such as the portrayal of his friendship with Marlene Dietrich, who is voiced by Camille Cottin, the connection to cinema, and the creation of the iconic Junon (1949) dress.
The film begins with a phone call from Hollywood to Maison Dior. The Chair, voiced by Josh O’Connor, gets told that Ron the Director, voiced by LaKeith Stanfield, has decided to shoot the film in colour, and therefore a colourful dress is needed for Marlene Dietrich as soon as possible. And so the challenge begins. Monsieur Dior, voiced by Louis Garrel, heads to the atelier to create the dress.
What is special about this short animated film is that it is full of marvellous hidden motifs. When Christian Dior arrives at the atelier, he is surrounded by familiar faces. There is Bobby—his dog in real life too, who has appeared not only in historical collections but also in Anderson’s. Then there are The Bees, voiced by Nine d’Urso, Nadia Tereszkiewicz and Greta Lee. This is what Christian Dior used to call his couture seamstresses because of their precision, resembling a beehive. We get a glimpse of Paulette, Yvonne and Madame Marguerite, named after Paulette Boncoure and Yvonne Ansermier—the petites mains in the Dior ateliers from the founding of the House—and Marguerite Carré, also known as Dame Couture, Technical Director of the Ateliers under Christian Dior. A touching tribute to the women behind the craftsmanship that has built a legacy throughout the years. The bee motif is also used a lot by Anderson in his work.
Then there is The Lucky Star, voiced by Rihanna, up on the Christmas tree. After the star advises Monsieur Dior to relax, he says knowingly, “Always trust the stars.” This motif refers to Christian Dior being a whimsical man himself, who believed in superstitions, the power of the number 8, lucky charms, and engaged in the occasional card reading.
When Dietrich says the words “No Dior, no Dietrich,” it is a reference to what actually happened when the actress was about to star in a film named Stage Fright in 1950, and one of her non-negotiables was that Christian Dior had to design the garments she was going to wear in the film. And so he did.
The whimsy is coming back and we are here for it. Because real craftsmanship, or at least the appreciation of it, is not only woven into haute couture garments but also into the other mediums of expressing a Maison’s vision and legacy. The freedom of child-like creativity is more than needed in today’s digital bubble, and we did not realise how much we had missed it.
