“I dote on Yorkshire pudding, mince pies, stuffed chicken and, above all, I worship the breakfast of tea, porridge, eggs and bacon,” wrote Christian Dior in his 1956  memoir, Dior by Dior. These immortal words (with which many of us can relate) are proof enough that he was a true, unashamed Anglophile - how else can you explain a sophisticated French man preferring English grub? The designer first crossed the channel in 1926 and spent the rest of his life falling deeper in love with our little island.

Hand in hand with Dior’s infatuation for England was his love affair with our institutions. As we all know, his entanglement with the royal family was made official when he designed Princess Margaret’s 21st birthday dress, but the designer also had a long-term romance with another quintessential English icon – Harrods. Dior staged his first fashion show at the department store back in 1953, forging a relationship that’s still nurtured by his heritage Maison almost seventy years later.



Now, the two fashion powerhouses are coming together for yet another rendezvous – an experiential series of pop-up boutiques in Harrod’s historic Knightsbridge location. This comes fresh off the heels of ‘The Fabulous World of Dior,’ a festive series of pop-ups and installations that illuminated the store and brought miniature gingerbread magic to London’s high street, which you can still experience in full right here on Because!  For its next act,  Dior is celebrating the ‘strength, fragility and beauty of a femininity in perpetual motion’ that creative director Maria Grazia Chuiri embodied in her powerful take on the New Look for the AW23 ready-to-wear collection.



First in the series is a library-inspired space that revolves around the Plan de Paris motif, first seen on a scarf designed by Christian Dior in the 1950s. The iconic print mapping city of Paris is also spread across a selection of Maison pieces and reimagined as a massive installation on Harrod’s exterior, creating a fitting backdrop for Dior’s latest collection which will be on sale in-store. The series then takes you through to the ‘ephemeral gift shop’ to pick out the perfect present for lucky loved ones, before concluding in a chromatic cabinet that displays a sumptuous line-up of Dior’s leather goods.



By Mimi Francis

Visit Dior’s latest pop-up at Harrods until August 27.