[Lady Art] Chris Soal on Combining the Haute and the Humble for Dior Lady Art

Welcome to the Dior Talks series themed around the 5th edition of Dior Lady Art and hosted by Paris-based journalist Katya Foreman. For this year’s event, ten artists and collectives from around the world have participated in a game of metamorphosis by rendering the iconic Lady Dior handbag as a unique piece of art.

Sharing the mic in our latest episode is the artist Chris Soal, an emerging talent who was born in 1994, the year the Lady Dior was created. Based in Johannesburg, South Africa, he is known for amorphous wall sculptures made from recycled single-use items, with influences ranging from the Arte Povera movement to African totems and the treasures of nature.

With a Midas-like touch, the artist transforms mundane objects into rich, sensual works that challenge conventional notions of value, a concept he transposed onto textured Lady Dior bags covered in bottle tops bent like cowrie shells or furry swaths of toothpicks evoking couture embroidery.

One might compare the painstaking handicraft of his work to the elaborate construction of the Lady Dior bag itself, which is assembled from 144 pieces. The story behind its signature cannage motif — borrowed from the Napoleon III seats Monsieur Dior used to seat guests at his haute couture presentations at 30 Avenue Montaigne — echoes his processes of observation and application.

Tune in to hear Soal discuss the experience of fusing the haute and the humble in his reinvention of the Lady Dior bag as well as its charms, including turning the letter “O” into a bottle opener. 

Discover Chris Soal’s creations :https://youtu.be/mWHNIigfA54

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