Words by Francesca Fearon; Photographs by Romain Lenancker; Creative direction Tim Holloway
Cannage, the art of canework, is as synonymous with the house of Dior as the Bar jacket from the 1947 ‘New Look’ collection. In accessories, we know cannage as the geometric quilted pattern on the iconic Lady Dior handbags. In jewellery, it is the intricate mesh-like woven pattern of gold that artistic director Victoire de Castellane first conceived 12 years ago in 2012 as the My Dior collection, preserving a signature design that is now a firmly recognisable part of the maison’s heritage.
This autumn brings a fresh chapter for the design with gold and diamonds followed by new yellow-gold pieces with a black lacquer underlay. “I like the idea of reinventing and completing the theme of a collection over the years,” says Victoire de Castellane of the design, which evokes meticulously intertwined strands of straw. “Like couture ribbons, the gold strips play with the cannage pattern to offer infinite combinations thanks to the association of yellow, pink and white gold.” She continues: “My Dior [is] my very own maille (mesh),” a subtle wordplay on ‘My’ and ‘maille’.
Cannage or caning, is an old-fashioned technique of weaving on a frame using rattan cane, which first appeared on the seats and backs of chairs in the mid 18th century and was widely popularised during the reign of Louis XV. Christian Dior was attracted to the look of the chair to fill his salon with them for guests to his first haute couture collections and then began experimenting with the technique as a decorative motif for the brand’s “Eau Fraiche” perfume in 1953. His successors continued the theme, developing tweed and Op Art print variations in the 1960s for tailoring. In the 1990s, Gianfranco Ferre created cane-patterned fabrics for dresses and coats and in the 2000s, John Galliano reinterpreted it through a modern lens introducing the brand’s CD initials in a cane-like pattern. However, it is the quilted Lady Dior bag for which the pattern is best known until de Castellane turned it into modern jewellery.
De Castellane has fond childhood memories of her visits to the Dior boutique in Avenue Montaigne with her mother and encountering these caned chairs and the elegant, refined women who frequented the maison. While best known for her naturalistic floral Jardins and haute couture-inspired designs in haute joaillerie and the dainty Rose de Vents and Diorette fine jewellery lines, the Gem Dior and the intricate cannage are much more contemporary and attract a broad selection of customers including both male and female.
This fluidity appeals to de Castellane: “Men historically have adorned themselves and more and more young men buy pieces of jewellery which were considered feminine, but today they mix and wear them in their own way.” The geometric designs are complex and yet, she adds,“can be worn at any time of the day and night and with any look.”
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