Courtesy of Dior
Sheila Hicks approaches the Lady Dior through fiber and form, challenging how a bag is worn, held, and understood.
The Lady Dior has long been defined by its structural make and its refinement. Originally called the “Chouchou,” Gianfranco Ferrè renamed the handbag after Princess Diana after she made it her go-to accessory for a number of her outings. Since then, it’s become a signature of the House, rewritten in its codes season after season, and has seen artists and collaborators approach its timeless, square frame as a blank canvas.
For Dior Men Summer 2026, it moves in a softer direction. American artist Sheila Hicks approaches the bag as a textile sculpture shaped by movement and feeling. “Her ingenious reinterpretation reflects her ongoing curiosity about form, texture, and color,” creative director Jonathan Anderson said in a release.
The bag’s famous square frame is cloaked in “cascading tassels arranged like ponytails” and worn crossbody with a long strap, considering how it sits against the body and how it moves through space. Familiar lines give way to motion, as its surface becomes responsive rather than fixed.
Anderson describes the collaboration as a rethinking of how the Lady Dior is worn and perceived; here, as a “sculptural object.” Hicks’ longstanding curiosity about fiber and textile is evident in the bag’s tactile construction, where linen is intertwined with silk threads in what she calls a “nest of ponytails.”
This reimagining first appeared on Anderson’s runway debut as creative director in a punchy terracotta and a neutral cream. Now available in a range of saturated hues, each piece carries its own rhythm. Its tassels sway freely, softening the bag’s architectural origins and introducing a sense of play.
This version of the signature reflects house codes with quieter, more material-focused gestures. Craft becomes the primary language, blurring the line between art and accessory.
The Lady Dior as reinterpreted by Sheila Hicks will be available in stores this January 2026.
