EXCLUSIVE: At Harrods, the Holiday Season Rhymes With Dior
Dior is cementing its longstanding relationship with Harrods with a holiday event that will take over the London department store’s windows and facade for a celebration of “The Wonderful World of Dior.”
Running from Nov. 10 to Jan. 3, the multipronged happening will involve events on every floor of the store, including a micro-village on the lower ground floor and a pop-up café. The front of the store on Brompton Road will be adorned with a monumental light installation featuring classic Dior emblems like the compass rose, one of the key symbols of the brand’s 2022 holiday campaign.
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Dior, which traditionally stages a summer pop-up at Harrods, will take over 44 windows with gingerbread house-themed displays celebrating all its product categories, from ready-to-wear and leather goods to fragrances and home wares. The theme of the tableaux will be exclusive to Harrods and Dior’s flagship on Avenue Montaigne in Paris.
“We have never led a collaboration of this scale with a department store,” said Pietro Beccari, chairman and chief executive officer of Christian Dior Couture.
“This is an absolute first, and along with the unprecedented exhibition there will be surprises and exclusivities on every floor: from monumental illuminations to entrancing shop windows animating the legendary facade, from two exclusive pop-ups to Café Dior, imagined specially for the event,” he added.
Beccari said Dior’s relationship with Harrods goes back to the beginnings of the French fashion house, with founder Christian Dior attending a show of his collection at the store in 1954.
“Harrods is renowned for its iconic Christmas displays, so it is our pleasure to be partnering with Christian Dior this season to create something truly unique and exceptional for our customers,” said Michael Ward, managing director of Harrods.
“Throughout our history, Dior has been a vital partner for Harrods, with our customers responding well across all categories, so it only made sense that we join forces to bring our clients a most enchanted season,” he added.
Dior will launch a dedicated app to allow visitors to book slots for the exhibition, featuring small-scale reproductions of three key buildings: the Paris flagship, which reopened last year after extensive renovations; founder Christian Dior’s childhood home in Granville, Normandy and the Chateau de La Colle Noire, the estate he bought in the South of France.
“These have been reproduced, with virtuosity, in reinterpretation of the centuries-old tradition of gingerbread houses. This incredible prowess made possible thanks to multiple ‘métiers’ and savoir-faire expertise — from sculpture to animation — celebrates the excellence of Dior and the magic of its creations in all forms, from haute couture to perfumes,” Beccari said.
The visit, which takes around 15 minutes, is augmented with immersive video projections, micromapping and holographic projections to take visitors on a journey from dawn until dusk.
The store will also carry a number of exclusives and pre-launches. Among the exclusives are square trunks embroidered with gold thread, carrying micro versions of handbags including the Saddle and the Lady Dior. High-end products on offer include the Miss Dior chair designed by Philippe Starck.
