01THE NEW IT BAG AT DIOR IS, IN TRUTH, A DRESS. JONATHAN ANDERSON'S
'CIGALE' BAG, NOW IN STORES AND ON A RUN OF A-LIST ARMS, IS BUILT
FROM A COUTURE GOWN CHRISTIAN DIOR CUT IN 1952. THE CLEVEREST
ACCESSORY OF THE NEW ERA IS AN ARCHIVE PIECE REBORN.
02THE SOURCE IS LEGENDARY. 'LA CIGALE', FROM DIOR'S AUTUMN 1952
'PROFILE LINE', WAS CUT IN PEARL-GREY MOIRE SILK WITH A SHARP BODICE
AND A SKIRT THAT CANTILEVERED OFF THE HIP LIKE A PIECE OF
ARCHITECTURE. COUTURE THAT BEHAVED LIKE A BUILDING.
03ANDERSON HAS CALLED IT HIS FAVOURITE DRESS IN THE HISTORY OF
FASHION. SO FOR HIS OPENING CHAPTER OF DIOR ACCESSORIES, HE DID NOT
INVENT A SHAPE. HE TRANSLATED THAT GOWN'S FOLDED, OFF-CENTRE
GEOMETRY STRAIGHT INTO CALFSKIN.
04THE CRAFT CARRIES THE STORY. CRISP FOLDED PANELS, AN ASYMMETRIC
PROFILE, A BOW NOD TO THE GOWN'S CINCHED WAIST, AND THE D-I-O-R
LETTERS TUCKED AWAY AT THE BACK. NO LOUD LOGO. THE SHAPE ITSELF IS
THE SIGNATURE.
05AND IT IS BUILT TO SELL. TOP HANDLE, CHAIN STRAP, TWO SIZES, AND
SHADES LIKE ROSE SOUPIR, ICY BLUE AND TRENCH BEIGE. THE CELEBRITY
ADOPTION HAS BEEN INSTANT, THE BAG IS ALREADY THE MOST VISIBLE
OBJECT OF ANDERSON'S DIOR.
06THAT IS THE LESSON OF THE CIGALE. A NEW DESIGNER'S SAFEST BET IS NOT
A NEW IDEA, IT IS THE HOUSE'S OWN GENIUS, REREAD. ANDERSON WENT INTO
THE ARCHIVE, FOUND A DRESS SHAPED LIKE A BUILDING, AND MADE IT THE
BAG ON EVERY ARM.