Dior Lady Art #6 Collection

2021
  • In 2021 Manal was commissioned by Christian Dior as a guest artist for designing three Lady Dior Bags as especial limited editions for the Dior LadyArt#6 Collection
    My father’s generation came back from the west and was dressing western (...) Now, in Saudi Arabia, people are beyond embracing their identity. It’s a reclaiming of identity. They are no longer ‘wondering’ and that’s what these bags are about” said Manal Aldowayan in an interview.
  • The three bags – Landscapes of the Mind, The Boys, and the Desert Rose minaudière – speak to her journey...
    The three bags – Landscapes of the Mind, The Boys, and the Desert Rose minaudière – speak to her journey as a Saudi artist. The bags not only bear her artworks from over the years, but also an imprint of her extremely detailed approach to her craft. One such nuance was the translation of the Dior letters into Arabic, something that had never been done before. AlDowayan had initially sent samples of the letters in classic calligraphic style, before deciding to change them to versions she had personally written, as she felt this would be closer to her vision. The photography on the bags is deeply personal.
  • The first bag, The Boys, depicts three young boys and a Land Cruiser set against a graffiti-emblazoned wall, a combination...

    The first bag, The Boys, depicts three young boys and a Land Cruiser set against a graffiti-emblazoned wall, a combination of two artworks she had created for collections in 2010 and 2016. “My father had photographed these three boys in northern Saudi Arabia in 1962 before going off to study in the United States,” she says. The images evoke nostalgia, documenting a young man bidding adieu to his country as he goes off to explore his dreams, while the car symbolises a pivotal moment of transformation in Saudi Arabia.  

  • Lady Dior

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