A Tribute to the fabric toile de jouy od Monsieur Dior’s Atelier
At the beginning it was the chintz, the fine fabric of Indian antique origins, with floral subjects to inspire the entrepreneur Christophe Philippe Oberkampf to creare a similar textile to the exotic one but reviewed with a provencal mood. So in 1750, in a town near Versailles, it was born the iconic Toile de Jouy, a fabric that represented illustrations as landscapes, bucolic elements and chinoiserie in only one color on light background by using copper sheets.
An elegant and aristocratic fabric that Queen Marie Antoinette, the most influential and glamour woman in France loved and commissioned the Petit Trianon’s decoration to Oberkampf and then that one of the more casual summer dresses disclosing in this way the different application uses of the textile.
In the years in fact the Toile de Jouy became an iconic country chic fabric (nowadays it’s heritage of French decorative fine arts) thanks to the bucolic atmosphere that recalls and to the monochrome shade.
In 1947 Christian Dior decided to decorate his atelier in Avenue Montaigne number 30 with a copy of the fabric decorated by Victor Grandpierre, suggested by the artist Christian Bérard.
Colifichet, the name of the toile de Jouy wanted by Monsieur Dior, is the inspiration of Maria Grazia Chiuri for the Cruise 2019 collection: the creative director modernizes d’antan tapestry that decorated the maison’s boutique by substituting the bucolic illustrations with wild animals.
Among rural scenes, tigers, monkeys, lions and snakes come to life, which from ink graphic marks become prints on many garments of the Cruise 2019 and, especially, 3d embroideries on Dior Book Tote bag: each piece is the result of one million six hundred thousand stitches and 42 hour time period!
Following the embroidery process of Christian Dior letters, the elements are checked and assembled by Florentine artisans, high-end Italian leather craftmen: it’s no coincidence that the interior label of the it bag quotes “Christian Dior Paris – made in Italy”.
In the occasion of the New Year’s eve and of the coming of the Cruise 2019 collection in the stores, the toile de Jouy is the leitmotif of a series of home objects such as plates, pillows and trays.
Art pieces à porter that pay homage to the maison and to France!
