How do you say J'adore Dior in the fewest possible words? Simple — J'Adior. The catchphrase was coined by the house's new artistic director, Maria Grazia Chiuri, and it has since taken the world by storm. The real genius of the play on words, though, is how it forges a human connection with the brand, especially among a new generation of shoppers who tend to shy away from logos.
"I wanted to use the logo but reinvent it in a hip-hop way," says the Italian, who left Valentino to become the first woman ever to lead Dior. "I love to mix culture, craft and couture together with a modern attitude."
That mix is perfectly encapsulated in her first bag for the maison, the J'Adior flap bag. It is a wonderfully desirable piece, yet still very accessibly conceived. It is also highly functional: the interior features wallet-style slots for cards, alongside both a zip pocket and a slide pocket at the front. And it is surprisingly versatile, working as a clutch, a cross-body or a shoulder bag.
The design is remarkably restrained and pared back, barring one major element — the bold metal hardware on the handclasp slot, which Chiuri has rendered in a brutalist, all-caps font. It is the detail that announces the bag, and the woman behind it, in a single confident gesture.
The craftsmanship runs deep. The bag passes through the hands of dedicated artisans, including Dior's Florence-based leather expert Marco, who selects the most perfect skins, and those who carefully assemble it using a "marcapunto" stitch borrowed from the trunk-making tradition.
For Chiuri, this is the whole point. "Luxury is not only clothes with a price but also value and the human touch," she explains. "Luxury is when you can feel the creativity." In the J'Adior, that creativity is something you can hold in your hand.
