September 2014|Harper’s BAZAAR| 221By Victoire’s estimation, she now takes only
“around fi ve minutes” to get ready, keeping her
wardrobe meticulously organised (clothes are
arranged by material and season), and fi nds the
idea of a walk-in closet, à la Sex and the City,
“quite vulgar” herself. For her everyday look,
she likes to keep the same base and jazz it up
with different heels. Her rule: stilettos go
with trousers, but dresses require a more
elaborate accompaniment, with an ankle strap,
a buckle or a platform. “It’s all about creating
a silhouette that suits your body type,” Victoire
explains. “For example, a little dress with stilettos
wouldn’t suit me. That is not how I see myself – I need
something more powerful.”
Born into an aristocratic family whose origins can be traced back to the 10th
century, Victoire counts the eccentric dandy Boni de Castellane among her ancestors;
her great-granduncle was renowned for throwing lavish parties at his Palais Rose hôtel
particulier during the Belle Epoque. Looking at the sketches of the gowns that gave rise to the
Archi Dior line – ghosts of a bygone golden age of dressing – one wonders whether they sparked memories in
Victoire of her glamorous grandmother, Sylvia Hennessy, who, along with society friends such as Barbara
Hutton, made a major impression on the young Victoire, spurring her love of jewellery. (At age fi ve she
dismantled an expensive charm bracelet to make earrings – much to her mother’s horror.) But Victoire shakes
her head. “I like reinterpreting things from the past, but I don’t dream about things as they were,” she says.
“For me, pure nostalgia is too morbid.”
The secret of Parisian style, Victoire says, is in not trying too hard, “I think women tend to obsess too much
about looking perfect. Parisian women are more relaxed; they don’t want to overdo it. Being perfect is
a complicated affair.” She warms to her theme. “I’m not sure elegance exists anymore. I think one has to be
correct and try to be in harmony with one’s head and body. After that, elegance is perhaps a question of quality,
things that are well made, or a certain kind of detachment,” she muses. “I don’t think anyone seeks elegance,
they want to look beautiful and feel reassured by what they are wearing. And I think people want to look rich.”
Which is perhaps why her creations are in such high demand in the Middle East. “Women in the Middle
East love stones and jewellery,” Victoire smiles. “Jewellery is very important because it’s a treasure for them that
they can keep for themselves.” She traces this back to the region’s political instability, adding, “It’s your
possession if you need run to away and leave a country.” Portable wealth aside, she loves the appreciation of
jewellery that is so vibrant in this part of the world. “Women in the Middle East are more
sensitive with jewellery,” she says, “they are very free and wear it without thinking,
which for me is the best way to wear jewellery. I feel that they enjoy what they
are wearing.”
As Victoire gathers her papers to return to her own offi ce, around the corner on
Rue François 1er – a large, bright space fi lled with taxidermied swans and parrots
and colour-grouped butterfl ies that adorn the walls – her eyes settle on a sketch of
a statement cuff from the Archi Dior line: the Bar en Huit Emeraude. Ablaze with an
Impressionist-style formation of pink and violet sapphires, diamonds, emeralds, spinels
and garnets, the cuff, its curvaceous lines cinched by a diamond belt, was also inspired
by the Bar suit. “I feel like my work is quite coherent with my state of mind,” Victoire
says. “I could easily wear that cuff this evening – and keep this outfi t – or a big ring,
but worn on the index fi nger,” she continues, wiggling said digit. “When a woman
picks a piece like that, it should be the only piece of jewellery she wears.”Archi Dior is priced from Dhs1,560,000 to Dhs11,205,000
‘Archi Dior Corolle
Soir Rubis’ ring
in white gold,
diamonds and
rubies, Dior High
Jewellery
‘Archi Dior Verticale
Godet Saphir’
earrings in white
gold, diamonds,
sapphires and
Paraiba tourmalines,
Dior High Jewellery