In mid-March 2018, the house of Dior for the first time welcomed 200 young women from all over the world for an exceptional event that matched remarkable mentors and employees of Dior with their mentees. The house had never before brought together so many talented females of so many nationalities. The unique convergence took place following the principles of “sorority” – the feminine solidarity that exists beyond traditional, cultural and geographical frontiers – and “the hand” – the hand that extends, helps, carries, and shares. Dior mentors were able to share with their mentees their own experiences, expertise, visions and extend a helping hand.
The mentors, all Dior employees and under 30 were chosen according to three criteria: talent, ambition and generosity. The mentees were brilliant students in fashion, business or engineering schools and considered to be the leaders of tomorrow. It was an opportunity to bring together the duos formed in 2017 and the new ones of 2018. The number 8 from 2018 not only being Christian Dior’s lucky number but the symbol of infinity, too. Besides hosting these 200 exceptional participants for a tailor-made programme over two days, Dior also introduced an artist whose focus is infinity. As a NASA collaborator, the sculptor Anilore Banon presented her project Vitae, a sculpture symbolizing humanity in a million hand prints that will be sent to the moon.
The programme was spread over two days and was organised around plenary sessions stimulated by three symbolic axes: education, empowerment and elevation. The art of education, which were two immersive visits to The Dior Heritage service, where many of the house’s precious archives are kept, and a visit to the ready-to-wear and haute couture ateliers that create and make the magic of fashion possible everyday.
During the art of elevation session, participants were able to discover the codes of luxury in order to appropriate them, through workshops led by experts from the Dior Academy and the Stimulus law firm who initiated them in emotional intelligence. During the art of empowerment session, the participants met in the boardroom with the house’s executives who shared their journeys. These discussions were led by author and director, Florence Sandis, who instilled in the participants a perspective on how to break through the glass ceiling.
The young women were then invited to experience the power of voice and the power of words: an expressive workshop led by Stéphane de Freitas who created the Eloquentia competition (and who has just been nominated for the Césars), followed by an interactive poetic conference, My Destiny as a Star, the future is in your hands, by Vincent Avanzi, Chief Poetic Officer.
By promoting the transmission of knowledge and by sharing its vision of the evolution of women in the professional world and the society of the future, Christian Dior Couture (for which three out of four Creative Directors are women) made the logical and necessary decision to accompany and foster the young talents.
Photos courtesy of Dior. For more information, visit www.dior.com.
The post Bringing Up The Dior House appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.