Lady Dior And Its Ties To Lady Diana

A House icon, the Lady Dior handbag is symbolically linked to the story of Lady Diana, Princess of Wales.

© Cherruault, SIPA

In September 1995, while attending the opening of the Paul Cézanne retrospective at the Grand Palais in Paris, the First Lady of France presented her with a brand new Dior bag – then called Chouchou – a creation that had not yet been launched. In November of the same year, the princess was on an official trip to Argentina: as she exited the plane in Buenos Aires, she appeared carrying the bag she had received as a gift a few weeks earlier; a scene immortalized in a photograph that went around the world.

© Antony Jones, UK Press, Getty Images

The accessory became one of Lady Di's must-haves, and she wore it on all her outings. Seduced, she also wanted a navy blue version to match her eye color. Thanks to this exceptional godmother who loved its modern, elegant curves – and simply "because it suited [her] well," in her own words – this object of desire was officially renamed the ‘Lady Dior’. The legendary status of the iconic bag, with its extraordinary destiny, was sealed.

© REX, SIPA

Lady Dior handbag - Savoir-Faire