Curations: Dior’s Rose des Vents collection takes inspiration from the spirit of seafaring with new necklaces, bracelets and earrings
- Victoire de Castellane, creative director of jewellery at Dior, reinterprets the medallion motif that has become the defining characteristic of the collection
- Rose des Vents combines precious metals, textures and gemstones in fine jewellery pieces that embody the spirit of the maison’s founder
Dior’s Rose des Vents takes historical cues and weaves them into a collection of fine jewellery that embodies the spirit of the ocean and pits whimsy against precious materials, textures and colours.
The current collection includes necklaces, a trio of sautoirs, bracelets and earrings crafted in three types of gold, punctuated with colourful gemstones and precious stones. The designs combine the two enduring sources of inspiration for Rose des Vents – stars and roses.
The collection is one of the French maison’s most symbolic lines, designed by Dior’s creative director of jewellery, Victoire de Castellane; it honours the spirit of the maison’s founder, Christian Dior.
Christian Dior had a love of roses, and was famously superstitious. It was his chance discovery of a star symbol on a pavement that prompted the designer to launch his luxury fashion label in 1946. The star charm has been the maison’s lucky emblem ever since, and an enduring presence guiding de Castellane.
“I wanted to start from the idea of a little motif pendant. And what is more metaphorical than a medallion?” de Castellane says. “In it you find echoes of Christian Dior’s star and the idea of a good-luck charm, but also the rose, his favourite flower.”
Christian Dior spent his childhood at a seaside villa called Les Rhumbs – the name given to the 32 points of a wind rose – rose des vents, in French. The villa is also where the couturier developed his love of roses.
De Castellane’s medallion has become the defining characteristic of Rose des Vents, and is reimagined for the current collection.
In a nod to the sea and the rigging of sailing vessels, a pendant appears as a double-sided medallion with a twist of gold rice grains surrounding it. In a playful reinterpretation, one side of the pendant shows the face of a wind rose, while the reverse is distinguished by a brightly coloured hardstone. The dangling medallion swings from a chain, revealing both faces as the wearer moves.