Dior Enlists 11 Women Artists to Create Chic New Handbag Collection

Mickalene Thomas and curator Racquel Chevremont at the Dior boutique’s Lady Dior #3 celebration in Miami. Photo: Courtesy of Dior

New York artist Mickalene Thomas is known for creating vivid portraits of black women that challenge traditional notions of beauty. This winter, hot off the heels of a number of buzzworthy museum exhibitions, she has moved beyond the canvas to design an elegant, top-handle purse by Christian Dior.

Thomas created a psychedelic patchwork of embellished textiles as part of Dior Lady Art #3, in which 11 world-renowned artists were given carte blanche to reinterpret the Lady Dior handbag. “I used different materials to achieve what I would normally create using oil, acrylic, silkscreen, and rhinestones,” says Thomas, who was fêted with the other contributing talent at a swanky VIP reception at Dior’s Design District boutique during Art Basel in Miami Beach.

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At the request of Dior creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri, the limited-edition collection for the first time features only female talents, including American artists Thomas, Pae White, and Polly Apfelbaum, as well as Isabelle Cornaro and Morgane Tschiember of France, Germany’s Janaina Tschape, Li Shurui (China), Lee Bul (Korea), Burcak Bingol (Turkey), Olga de Amaral (Colombia), and Haruka Kojin (Japan).

Lady Dior handbag designed by German artist Janaina Tschape. Photo: Courtesy of Dior

Turkish artist Burcak Bingol created this version. Photo: Courtesy of Dior

Beijing-based artist Li Shurui designed this bag for Lady Dior #3. Photo: Courtesy of Dior

A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2018 Winter Issue under the headline Artistic Pursuits. Subscribe to the magazine.