Dior Enlists 11 Women Artists to Create Chic New Handbag Collection

The artists and their creations are fêted at a VIP reception during Art Basel in Miami Beach

Colorful designer handbags displayed in an art gallery setting with focus on a front bag featuring a textured patchwork design.
Mickalene Thomas and Polly Apfelbaum’s creations for Lady Dior #3, on display at the Design District boutique during Art Basel in Miami Beach. Photo: Courtesy of Dior

A woman in a white lace dress and a person in a blue patterned jacket pose at a colorful Dior backdrop.
Mickalene Thomas and curator Racquel Chevremont at the Dior boutique’s Lady Dior #3 celebration in Miami. 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).

Elegant handbag with textured, colorful fabric ruffles in green, pink, and purple shades, displayed on a table.
Lady Dior handbag designed by German artist Janaina Tschape. Courtesy of Dior

Brown handbag with colorful floral embroidery and a metal charm attached to the handle.
Turkish artist Burcak Bingol created this version. Courtesy of Dior

Colorful handbag with a digital pixel design and metal charms hanging from the handle.
Beijing-based artist Li Shurui designed this bag for Lady Dior #3. 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.