Wednesday 22 June 2016

Christian Dior & The French Riviera


For Christian Dior, the Riviera embraced a unique art de vivre, an ideally hedonistic way of life. Escape to the sensual South that was such an inspiration to Christian Dior.
"Paradise is here". - Christian Dior



Callian, Montauroux, Le Lavandou, Saint-Tropez and Saint-Raphaël… Christian Dior had always been inspired by the sunny charms of the French Riviera. It was like a faithful mirror, a sister land that reflected and nourished his sunny soul.

Christian Dior Provençal dream came true with the purchase of the Château de La Colle Noire in the Grasse hinterland.
"I think of this home now as my real home. The home where perhaps I will become again simply Christian. Where I feel myself to be as much a Couturier as a Perfumer." - Christian Dior




Christian Dior, who loved flowers, chose to acquire his property in 1951. Château de La Colle Noire, in Montauroux near Grasse in the South of France was a splendid residence overlooking the greenery-covered slopes in the heart of the Grasse countryside. The House of Dior has decided to restore this property today to foster its ties with its Provençal heritage. Christian Dior's acquisition of Château de La Colle Noire was the culmination of his deep fondness for the Provençal south and the realisation of his dream to be a perfumer: it was there that Christian Dior dreamed of using Dior flowers for his fragrances.

Dior Les Parfums - Relive the re-opening of Christian Dior's house in Grasse (South of France) last May, Le Château de la Colle Noire, with Charlize Theron among other very special guests.






This property was his peaceful haven, his "true home": he decorated each room, designed the garden and oversaw the refurbishment. It was there, surrounded by a chorus of crickets and white trails of jasmine, that he took off his couturier's hat and began developing his passion for exceptional flowers.

"I would like that house to be my true home. " Christian Dior
Beneath the Provencal sun, the garden that Christian Dior designed was reminiscent of his childhood in Normandy.
"I could take my existence full circle and return, in a different climate, to the enclosed garden that protected my childhood" - Christian Dior
Château de La Colle Noire was above all a "house-garden", where he allowed all his passion for flowers to be freely expressed. From the day he acquired the property and its fertile grounds, Christian Dior never stopped planting lush and fragrant plots of May roses and Grasse jasmine, as well as entire fields of olive and fruit trees. From his Paris base, he enquired about blossoms, took part in harvesting, making olive oil and visited often to oversee the development of his estate. Christian Dior made his property the symbol of the French art de vivre, associated as much with simplicity as with conviviality, and invited his friends to share in his perfect happiness.




Determined to revive Château de La Colle Noire, which it acquired in 2013, the House of Dior brought its history back to life and traced its roots, which are firmly anchored in the South of France. Patiently and lovingly restored, La Colle Noire is exactly as he wanted. Refined and welcoming, full of life and beauty. From the grounds to the reflecting pool, Château de La Colle Noire has been reborn beneath the Provençal sun. A thousand May roses, vineyards, olive trees, almond trees, - that Christian Dior loved so much - have all been replanted in the gardens of the Château.  His favourite flowers are there: lily-of-the-valley and African lily, tulips and violets, and above all Grasse roses, which reign supreme in Dior fragrances.

Partnerships have been forged with producers in the area, making Christian Dior's visionary dream come true: Dior flowers for Dior fragrances.





The Provençal, fragrant, exhilarating character of this garden, that Christian Dior wanted so much, has now been restored.
It had all the ingredients to fulfill his happiness. A generous sun and the lush, fragrant nature he painstakingly planted : Rose de mai, Jasmine Grandiflorum, olive trees, almond trees, and countless others.

"The garden has to be at least fifty hectares, full of flowers." - Christian Dior

DIOR Riviera Fragrances
Christian Dior was profoundly attached to the land of Grasse that inspired his founding fragrances. It is where he wished to cultivate his love of flowers, rooted in the soul of the South.


The sweet life of the Riviera is what inspired Peter Philips, Creative and Image Director for Dior Makeup, to create 4 new sunny shades of Dior Vernis for Summer 2016: Azur, Bay, Dolce Vita and Regatta. Mix and match to your heart’s delight with 4 new shades of Dior Addict Lipstick: Sunny, Escapade, Wave and Dream.


Three refreshing, ultra-light and luscious skincare products that invite you to pamper yourself and indulge in their jelly, aqua and sorbet textures.






Selections by ANDREA JANKE Finest Accessories

Photo Credit/Source: The House of DIOR

More To Love ...


'A floral fragrance like a bouquet of a thousand blooms - "Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet is a smooth and carefully formed perfume, not a sensory assault, but rather a halo, like an aura.  It's a  "bubble " perfume, one possessing the extreme elegance of gentleness ," states François Demachy, the house's exclusive perfumer-creator. At the heart of this delicate fragrance lies the subtly sweet perfume of the peony, recreated here through a harmonious combination of rose and fruity notes.!






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