Everything to Know About the Lady Dior Bag Made in Honor of Diana, Princess of Wales
Princess Diana is one of the most iconic and beloved women ever to exist, inspiring generations of people who lend their time and talents to disadvantaged groups and charitable causes. Although the royal died in 1997, at the young age of 37, her influence lives on – and while it is her humanitarian work that has really inspired the world, her fashion had an undeniable influence on pop culture.
Most notably, the fashion house Dior, one of the world’s most exclusive and coveted brands, opted to rename one of its handbags after Princess Diana, due to her loyalty to the handbag. The tribute remains one of the most interesting examples of the celebrity and fashion worlds colliding.
Princess Diana was a fashion icon
While the world has always been interested in the fashion of the royal family, Princess Diana really took things to a new level. She set the bar high in terms of her personal style and wasn’t afraid to try things that were daring and out-of-the-box. She loved cutting-edge silhouettes, including short skirts, shoulder-baring dresses, and bike shorts paired with oversized sweatshirts.
Some critics of her style claimed that she was too rebellious – but many appreciated the way that she dressed with purpose, using her fashion choices to raise awareness for causes that she believed in. After her divorce from Prince Charles, Princess Diana became even more popular, gracing the covers of fashion magazines all over the world.
The Lady Dior bag is a timeless symbol of fashion to this day
Princess Diana had a favorite handbag, just as she had favorite outfit combinations. According to Vogue, she first stepped out with the now-iconic Dior bag in Paris, during the opening of a Cézanne exhibition. Originally, the design was known as “Chouchou,” which is a French word for “favorite” – but after Princess Diana started showing an extreme affinity for the bag, taking it with her to a number of high-profile events, Dior renamed the bag Lady Dior, after Princess Diana.
Over time, the bag became Dior’s flagship handbag, thanks in large part to Princess Diana’s influence. After her death in 1997, Dior continued to introduce new variations of the handbag, all under the name Lady Dior. These days, according to Fashion Luxury, the bag is still in production at Dior, with brand-new iterations every season.
The bags are easily recognizable due to their signature cross-stitching across the leather, which creates a diamond-like illusion, and the feminine, arched handle. Fans who want to own a Lady Dior bag can purchase one from Dior for around $4,000 for a small version or up to $6,500 for a medium-sized version.
Other stars who have had handbags named in their honor
Over the years, many stars have inspired handbags – and designers have followed Dior’s example, renaming or even creating bags in those stars’ honor. According to E! Online, one good example of this is the Birkin bag from Hermès. The Birkin bag is now widely considered to be a celebrity status symbol, but it was originally named after the French singer Jane Birkin, who provided the design house with a list of her handbag design “must-haves.”
Designer Jason Wu is good friends with actor Diane Kruger, so he collaborated with her in order to create a simple, stylish, foldover bag. Design house Mulberry decided to honor supermodel Cara Delevingne in 2014, naming one of its backpacks “Cara” after the popular model. For celebs, getting a handbag named after them is probably one of the ultimate ways to prove their fashion cred.
