Thank you Beatrice for being part of the 95.22 campaign. I am so happy to share this journey with someone I have seen grow into the beautiful woman she is today, such an example of timeless beauty and elegance.
There is nothing more important to me than preserving global artisanal legacies while empowering communities of women everywhere.
It has been my honour to invite @mickalenethomas to collaborate with @chanakya.school and @chanakya.in to envision the installation where the last Dior Haute Couture show took place.
Thank you to @karishmaswali77 , for making this dream a reality and to all the women at @chanakya.school who took part in this project, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
I can’t wait to hug you again.
It was such a joy to collaborate with @mickalenethomas on the decor of the last @dior Haute Couture show.
I cherished the time we spent together in her studio and the conversations that have led her to create this pantheon of Black and mixed-race strong female figures who, despite the odds set against them, achieved their goals while embodying elegance, talent and beauty.
The last Haute Couture collection is dedicated to them.
Joséphine Baker, Diahann Carroll, Dorothy Dandridge, Marpessa Dawn, Ophelia DeVore, Lena Horne, Eartha Kitt, Donyale Luna, Josephine Premice, Hazel Scott, Nina Simone, Naomi Sims, Helen Williams.
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Marpessa Dawn worked as a technician in a New York laboratory before moving to Europe to pursue her dream in the film world. In 1953, she moved to France and became a gouvernante// housekeeper before landing, at the age of 24, the role of Eurydice in Marcel Camus’ musical feature Orfeu Negro. This reinterpretation of the famous Greek myth takes place in Rio de Janeiro during the Carnival and spotlights the black community.
The production was a resounding success, winning the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1959 and the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 1960. Thereafter, Marpessa Dawn continued her career and got the lead role in the comedy Chérie Noire, directed by François Campaux.
Eartha Kitt began her career as a dancer in the Katherine Dunham Company before moving to Paris, where she performed as a cabaret singer – notably at the Boeuf sur le Toit – and gained immediate popularity.
She made her acting debut in 1950 with the role of Helen of Troy in Time Runs, an adaptation of Faust directed by Orson Welles. At the same time, she recorded the songs C’est Si Bon, Santa Baby and I Want to Be Evil, which met with great success.
Committed to many causes, such as the peace movement, she founded the Kittscille Youth Foundation, which helps underprivileged youth in Los Angeles.
Don’t miss the show today at 2:30.
Resistance, humanist and activist for the civil rights of African-Americans, Josephine Baker was above all a free woman.
In 1925, she left the United States for Paris, performed at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées.
In 1927, she became the star of the Folies Bergères revue. She became a Parisian icon, a fervent client of the great couturiers, including Christian Dior, inspiring a new generation of artists, designers, and authors.
This collection is an homage to Joséphine.
Thank you Chimamanda for sharing this journey at Dior with me since the very first day.
Thank you for letting me borrow your words and turn them into a manifesto for women everywhere.
Thank you for being the first woman helping me to illustrate what femininity means today for the launch of the new 95.22 bag.
