Lady Dior Medium Love Bag, Available at Dior Boutiques Nationwide, $4,600

Cynthia Daignault,_Rorschach_, 2018; oil on linen; Six parts, each: 12 x 16 in (30.5 x 40.6 cm) Overall dimensions: 96 x 16 in (243.8 x 40.6 cm) CD009; on view at Night Gallery, Los Angeles.

From Dior’s Atelier to Downtown LA

In partnership with our friends at

What do you do if you are tasked with creating a new generation of bags for a fashion house that’s nearly a century old? If you’re Maria Grazia Chiuri, you look to female artists. The new artistic director of Dior—the first woman to hold the job—is inspired by feminism, art, and feminism in art. (Or rather the lack of it. For her Spring-Summer 2018 collection, Chiuri opened the show with a T-shirt which read, “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?” – a message inspired by Art Historian, Linda Nochlin’s pioneering 1971 essay.)

• For her spring collection, Chiuri was influenced by Niki de Saint Phalle—the French-American artist known for outrageous, colorful, vibrant sculptures. The bags follow suit, with playful details, like a guitar strap on a crossbody bag and psychedelic graphics. Vintage prints and hardware are a nod to the Dior archives of the 1960s and Marc Bohan, the creative director at the time.

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  Lady Dior Bag in Black Canage Crinkled Calfskin, Available at Dior Boutiques Nationwide, $3,950; DIOR Large Strap in Multicolor Jacquard, Available at Dior Boutiques Nationwide, $1,500
  

  Monique Mouton,_Pacific_, 2013 oil on wood; 96 x 23 1/2 in (243.8 x 59.7 cm) MMO001; on view at Night Gallery, Los Angeles

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  Dioraddict Small Original Dior Oblique Bag, Available at Dior Boutiques Nationwide, $3,700

• This all makes an unlikely path to the Night Gallery. Until you factor in that the Night Gallery is female-owned, focuses on contemporary art, and is at the epicenter of the emerging art scene in downtown LA, making it the perfect backdrop for the Chiuri’s bags.

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  Lady Dior Medium Mirror Mosaic Bag, Available at Dior Boutiques Nationwide, $5,900; DIOR Mini Black & White Checks J’Adior Bag, Available at Dior Boutiques Nationwide, $3,200

  Elise Rasmussen,_Blue of Distance_, 2018; cyanotype on silk; Dimensions variable: 7 parts each 108 x 48 in (274.3 x 121.9) ER016 on view at Night Gallery, Los Angeles

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  J’Adior Mini Metalized Bag, Available at Dior Boutiques Nationwide, $2,450 ; Small Diorama Bag, Available at Dior Boutiques Nationwide, $3,400
  

  Cynthia Daignault,_Rorschach_, 2018; oil on linen; Six parts, each: 12 x 16 in (30.5 x 40.6 cm) Overall dimensions: 96 x 16 in (243.8 x 40.6 cm) CD009; on view at Night Gallery, Los Angeles