Ian Davenport, $5,700, Colorfall
By Kristen Shirley
This story originally appeared in the January/February 2017 issue of Elite Traveler.
Building on the success of its collaboration with artist Marc Quinn last summer, Dior expands the Lady Dior Project by giving six artists total carte blanche to bring their art to the Lady Dior bag and accessories.
The bag’s iconic shape and signature charms lend itself well to this type of collaboration; it’s instantly recognizable as Dior, but it serves as a blank canvas for the artists to explore different ways of interpreting their art.
Each artist’s bag is wildly different and true to their art. Meeting a wide range of artist’s demands pushed Dior’s artisans to use innovative techniques. Mat Collishaw’s pieces are high-definition prints of butterflies on glazed leather. For Jason Martin, the house used a special technique to create curves up to ¾ inch on the leather to recreate his unique paintings that play with texture.
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Matthew Porter, $5,700, Black and white motif
In his work, English abstract painter Ian Davenport takes syringes of paint and applies them vertically on aluminum or stainless steel panels, letting gravity spread and mix the paint at the bottom of the work.
Ian reproduced a sequence from his series of paintings Colorfall on the silver leather. The stripes of colors “melt” together at the bottom of the bag. The inside of the bag is a print Ian designed after his studio’s paint-splattered floor.
Other artists who contributed to the Lady Dior Project include Matthew Porter, Chris Martin and Daniel Gordon. These bags will be revealed around the world – from Miami to London to Dubai.
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Chris Martin, $5,700, Paleocene Sunset
Perhaps a bit more “unlady-like” than traditional Dior, these abstract works are attention-grabbing and works of art in their own right.
Available at Dior Lady Art Pop-Up Boutique until February 28, 201 North Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, California, US.dior.com
Cover photo: Abstract artist Ian Davenport
