Original subtitles

(light electronic music) (crowd chatters)

Today, what are you wearing?

Dior, of course.

And the shoes?

Of course.

Do you buy a lot of Dior?

Well, it depends.

It's never enough, anyway.

It's the biggest event of Paris Fashion Week.

(laughs) Dior Show, we're waiting, something special.

Because a new designer and we will see.

For the first time in its 70-year history,

Dior's collection is designed by a woman.

Newly-appointed creative director, Maria Grazia Chiuri.

What are you trying to say

about women today in this world?

I think that we have to start again

to speak about equality.

She's at the center of a billion-dollar brand,

spanning clothes, make-up, handbags and perfume.

It's quite impossible to register

the formula of the perfume, so the only way is the secret.

We have privileged access to Dior,

as the Italian designer puts her first collection together

in a matter of weeks.

Is it nerve-racking at this point?

I have to maintain calm. (laughs)

Inside though?

It's a secret. (laughs)

My secret.

Join us inside this exclusive world,

as we discover the fabulous frocks,

the psyches of the rich and the courting of celebrities,

behind one of the world's most famous names.

(relaxed music)

In mid-July, Maria Grazia Chiuri's appointment

was announced by Dior fashion boss, Sidney Toledano

Now, on her shoulders alone,

rests Dior's reputation and its profitability.

(crowd applauds)

She has to hit the ground running,

to conceive, design and oversee the making

of an entire collection

that will be revealed in Paris Fashion Week in September.

I think that's the difference, probably, about my vision.

I think it's very important

that the girl maintains their personality.

And your friend here with the bun,

this an inspiration?

(laughs) Why not?

You don't know where it comes, the inspiration.

The inspirations about everything, about life,

and that's important.

He has a bun too. Yeah, of course. (laughs)

Maria Grazia has come from rival fashion brand,

Valentino, in her native Rome,

where she and her design partner nearly doubled profits

with their romantic dresses

and hugely-successful accessories.

Like the cult rock stud shoes.

Maria Grazia and Pierpaolo, together they were

one of the greatest success stories

of the current era of fashion.

Under their leadership, Valentino

went from being a successful, very successful brand

into a billion-pounds brand.

From the point of view of being an editor,

just everybody wanted to wear those clothes.

So if you're shooting a celebrity on a front cover,

they were all going to want to wear Valentino

because they all looked beautiful in these dresses.

They really knew how to dress women.

Maria Grazia

has inherited a highly-skilled team.

She briefs Dior's influential make-up director,

Peter Phillips, and Guido, fashion's favorite hairdresser,

with her vision.

We want to speak about the women in different ways, no?

We believe it's important to give a young attitude.

And I saw the girls and they look more boyish.

Yeah, absolutely. (laughs) Which is really.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Her mood board reflects the ideas

for the new collection.

Her inspiration includes fencing and feminism,

star signs and superstition.

The outfits are beginning to come into shape.

The idea about my first collection is that Dior

is not only clothes with Mr. Dior

but also with the other designer.

And so I use some elements that are

come to all the Dior heritage. Ah, that's nice, yeah.

But with a different

attitude. Yeah, no, completely.

Cool, beautiful. If you want to help me,

be great. (laughs)

No, because it's not easy,

Dior. (laughs) No, no.

(relaxed electronic music)

After seven decades,

there is a deep heritage at the House of Dior.

Maria Grazia is following in the footsteps

not just of Christian Dior himself, but the famous names

who have previously been chief designer here,

including Yves Saint Laurent and John Galliano.

I think that Christian Dior stood so much

for a kind of femininity that just doesn't exist any more.

I don't think we need a gentle world now.

The world is tough out there,

and for Maria Grazia to give to Dior

a feeling of what a modern woman, not only wants to wear

but has to do in the world.

To go to work, to cope with her children, to cope with life,

to go out in the evening.

That's the kind of designer we're looking for today.

She's making clothes that will work beautifully on,

you know, a young woman like Jennifer Lawrence,

one of the faces of Dior.

But I think she will also make clothes

that will look beautiful on older women.

And you think, the average age of a luxury brand consumer

is 53.

She will make clothes that a 53-year-old women

is going to look great in.

See you later. See you later.

Bye. Thank you.

To me, Dior went out and looked for somebody

who was an interesting, modern designer,

and that's who they found in Maria Grazia.

Yeah, I work with many different designers

and each designer has their own approach.

So the first cooperation is always a bit like

searching how to communicate.

But she's very open in her communication

and she illustrates her vision.

Peter Philips has worked with them all,

from Karl Lagerfeld to Alexander McQueen.

But now he's working for the first time with Maria Grazia

on the look for her first show.

I mean, this case is kind of a simple and easy brief.

There are the sports elements,

which she brings into the collection.

So I like to do maybe simple things

by enhancing the eyebrows slightly,

making it a bit more masculine.

But at the same time, trying to keep the elegance of Dior.

It's very soft, it's almost like alabaster skin tone.

Then if she turns, you can see that,

I don't know if you read it,

there's a bit of glow on the side of the face.

I don't know if it captures it.

I can use this, it's like a powdery effect.

You see the shine?

You see, you have this glow.

Another one is, for example gel, a gel effect.

You see, you get a bit more wet, but if you apply it thin

it comes like a glow

and that's actually what I put on the side of her face here.

It blends in with the skin texture.

Underneath, I've got like a pure white,

like a clown white, almost,

which I've blended into the skin tone,

on the nose bridge and on the chin,

so you kind of get those natural highlights enhanced.

I just slightly enhanced the eyebrow

with a very thin eyebrow pencil.

You can see them here.

You can see the little stripes that I put in.

It just enhances them,

without losing the naturalty of the eyebrow.

Kind of more like a bit of a tomboy look.

It's very detailed, yeah.

Quite often, it's much more work to do make-up like this,

than do a spectacular splash.

You have real skills. (laughs)

Thank you, yes, I hope so.

Spread the word! (laughs)

Alongside the make-up department, Guido,

with his team of stylists,

is coming up with hair designs to meet Maria's brief.

I'm doing a few different variations

of the braid that she wanted in the back of the head.

So, this young lady has four braids

and there will be three, two, one.

And the kind of, where the knot is, how high it is,

how messy it is, what texture the hair it is,

whether it's dry or a little shiny

and all those sort of nuances

will be something that Maria Grazia will sort of pick up on.

She's very instinctive.

It's a new adventure! (Maria laughs)

British milliner Stephen Jones,

has worked with the House of Dior for 20 years,

but how will his relationship

with the new creative director work?

Do you like wearing them?

Have you tried them on? Of course.

But in the first fitting. The first fitting,

I spend all the time this way

because I was absolutely in love for this hat.

Maria Grazia, we're seeing your eyes

through the netting and if you look slightly up,

you can twinkle the eyes.

Up. (laughs)

I was completely in love.

The first fitting, I spend all my time

With a hat on. with this, absolutely.

(laughs) Bye, have a good lunch.

The choice of Stephen's designs

for the collection is still not finalized.

We were talking about fencing

and the inspiration for the collection

and what she would like to have,

'cause she'd never really done hats before.

We developed this idea,

which is a little bit like a fencing collar

but actually worn on the head.

And this is a little bit picking up the quilting

from the front of the jacket,

with the earflaps, but actually it's like a visor.

So we've done them in this quilt

and we did them transparently, like that,

and also this version in metal.

Which we've been trying some on,

but it's halfway through fitting,

so I don't really know.

I never ever think that it's done

until the last girl comes off the runway.

Christian Dior said,

"Without hats, there is no civilization."

Did he? Yep.

What do you think of that remark?

I completely agree with him. (laughs)

(relaxed music)

Upstairs in Dior's ready-to-wear workroom,

skilled hands are busy

putting Maria Grazia's designs together.

Known as the petit mains, or small hands,

they've seen everyone come and go over the years.

(relaxed music)

Tall models will soon be wearing these clothes

at the hotly-awaited ready-to-wear show,

which will launch Maria Grazia as Dior's new designer

at Paris Fashion Week.

I like fairy tales.

I love a fairy tale.

(all laughing)

(relaxed electronic music)

I want to test it with the black pants,

the look with the black pants.

With Paris Fashion Week approaching,

Dior's new designer, Maria Grazia Chiuri,

still has to take lots of decisions

about her first big show.

I think it's too big for her.

Well okay, I don't know

Which model will wear what,

and with which accessories,

footwear and more important, underwear.

(laughs) Okay.

Picture.

As the fitting draws to a close,

the studio is cleared of everyone but Maria Grazia,

her closest assistants, and two models.

A new designer at the House of Dior

is enough to entice the most

powerful person in fashion to pay a visit.

Anna Wintour, editor in chief of American Vogue,

has arrived for a special private preview.

Her influence in the fashion world is legendary.

Will she like what she sees?

(tense music)

(upbeat music)

The reaction looks positive.

Fashion brands and fashion magazines

coexist in a multi-billion dollar industry,

each dependent on the other for success.

Every year, Dior spend countless millions

on placing ads in the fashion press,

but rather than headline-grabbing clothes,

most consumers will buy handbags, shoes, cosmetics

and, particularly, perfume.

(upbeat funky music)

In just three months in 2016,

Dior's perfume and cosmetics sales

leapt by 9% to 1.2 billion euros.

Monsieur Dior understood that a bottle of perfume

or lipstick is all most people can afford.

So, to capitalize on the largest possible number of clients,

in 1947, he created his first scent, Miss Dior.

It's still a bestseller.

As Christian Dior himself realized,

once you've created the brand, you can sell the dream.

Near Grasse, in the south of France,

Dior still control the same fields of rose and jasmine

used in making some of their perfumes.

Our flowers, it's exceptional,

but these flowers is very, very expensive.

Carole Biancalana

is the fourth generation of the same family

to own these fields.

It's manual picking because we must take

only completely open flowers,

we must pick at a good time of day.

It's now on a the morning.

Eight until maximum 12 o'clock for the best,

the exceptional perfume.

Have you ever been seduced

by a man offering you a particular perfume as a gift?

(laughs) I don't want

a gift for perfume

because it's a personal choice.

So difficult to give a gift like perfume.

A book, it's easy, not perfume.

A perfume is your personality,

it's difficult to make a choice for a person.

It's a family concern

and when it comes round to the jasmine harvest,

it's all hands to the bushes.

(cat meows)

Do you, in your job,

have to have a good nose?

(laughs) Big one?

Pardon, sorry. A good one!

The biggest nose at Dior is Francois Demachy,

the man in charge of creating their perfumes.

He is the one who decides

what quantity of which flower will work the magic.

Many of the products are sourced

from cheaper parts of the world

but for the jasmine from Grasse,

it takes 1,400 hours of picking

to gather the seven million flowers needed

to make just one kilogram of the jasmine essence

which goes into some Dior perfumes.

This lab is where the alchemy takes place.

We call it atelier.

Finding the right formula is like striking oil.

And Francois Demachy has done so several times

in his 10 years at Dior and before that at Chanel.

The perfume is very secret,

that's why we have separate the two atelier.

Why is it so secret?

It's secret because it's quite impossible

to register the formula of the perfume,

so the only way to defend ourselves is the secret.

And so we are maybe a little paranoid about the secret,

but it's like that.

Under high security,

the inner sanctum of this laboratory

is where the deeply confidential work is done.

And industrial espionage is an ever-present danger.

So, that's the formula,

a formula is like a recipe

with some raw materials and the quantity.

Can we read that?

Can you show us?

Would it be revealing too much?

It's quite secret, you know.

But-- Show us a little bit.

Bois rose, bergamot, cedarwood, lemon, coriander,

guaiac wood, etc, etc.

And the quantities, and that's a perfume.

Are some more expensive than others?

For sure, some are really expensive, for instance,

the jasmine from Grasse costs almost 100,000 euros by kilo.

That means twice the gold.

Twice as expensive as gold?

Yeah, Yeah. Wow.

It's quite complicate to go the jasmine.

You need a lot of care.

And the yield is very low,

it needs more than 700 kilos of flower

to get one kilo of absolute,

absolute of jasmine is a product that we use.

Voila.

We keep here the products,

the raw materials that we need to make our formula

and we have here almost 700 products.

Yeah.

And here.

Ah, voila.

Ah, no.

Yeah, it's closed.

Because it's our secret product. (laughs)

Ooh.

We have to open it.

The lady with the key.

Some products are a very fragile.

Voila.

Top secret?

Yes, top secret. (laughs)

So, this is like the Fort Knox of perfume?

Yes, in a way.

Voila.

So, even you don't have the key?

Only Carmen.

Yes. Is that correct?

Only Carmen.

Would you say that aromas can be erotic?

Oui, absolutely.

Don't forget that we are mammals

and we are very linked with the smell.

The smells from others can send a lot of messages.

You know, in some moment,

some erotic smell are very, very good smell

and sometimes you can't control yourself

because you smell that, and it's like that!

Yes, we are animals.

(relaxed music)

Back in Paris,

preparations for Maria Grazia's big show continue.

One of Maria's most forthright critics

has arrived to see her work.

Her 20-year-old daughter, Rachele.

I spend a lot of time with my daughter.

She is my muse, of course.

Also because fashion is about love

and the best love that I have

is for my son and my daughter, of course.

Hello!

Might your daughter influence

you collection?

Absolutely, yes. (laughs)

Rachele has Eurostarred in

from her studies in history of art at London University.

She's come to give her mum support

and to share in the excitement.

Have you seen many of the clothes?

I haven't seen much yet, actually.

I'm very excited but from what I can see, like,

No select

nothing for yourself. looks amazing.

No, no, don't worry.

I know you.

(Rachele speaks in foreign language)

So cool.

I hope you don't try to hide,

but thank you, madam.

Oh, look.

(laughs) It's so cool.

Ah no, want to show the soleil.

Look, it's so pretty

The sundress is one of 64 outfits

that are almost ready for their

Paris Fashion Week unveiling.

(Rachele speaks in foreign language)

Looks amazing.

It looks amazing, Mom. It's so fun.

I like it, honestly.

I really like.

When you see your mother's collections.

Yes. Are you critical?

Always.

I always tell the truth.

Like, I'm not interested in lying to her,

so if I don't like something,

I just say it, to be honest. (laughs)

That's good!

No, no, that's very important.

All the time, I ask her,

please give your opinion and honestly,

I think that's helped me to have the right vision

because sometimes the people around you

could please you but she's also inspiring for me

because, you know, I see the new generation

that has a different approach.

Because she look everything with fresh eyes,

she has not the same reference that I have.

So I think it gives me an open mind

because she says honestly, "I like, I don't like."

And sometimes, with age, you think too much about things

and that's not good sometimes,

but Rachele, honestly, she's-- (laughs)

I don't need to lie, because (laughs)

I don't work for her. (laughs)

(dramatic music)

Bonjour. Bonjour.

Bonjour, (speaks in foreign language).

how are you? Well.

It's the day before new Dior designer

Maria Grazia's first show.

She's having a final inspection of the location.

It costs upwards of 20,000 euros a day

to hire the famous Rodin Museum.

But Dior will only be using it as a grand entrance

to the main event.

They've built their own massive theater

in the gardens behind.

The hugely sought after embossed invitations have gone out

and 1,000 guests are expected to fill the space.

These are the shoes for the new collection.

And it's all got to be kept pristine.

Even Maria Grazia herself cannot sully the perfect patina

of the Dior gray painted floor.

This is the house light, the pre-show.

Not so white.

No, no, exactly, but you can see it's quite warm.

I don't like the thing,

It's quite warm, yeah. that is not white.

Stripped to its simple essence

with pine blocks as benches and pine boards for runways,

it probably doesn't matter

that the benches aren't padded for those

thin fashion editor bottoms.

This whole enormous investment is all for a show

that will last for a total of 10 minutes.

(upbeat rock music)

The set is modeled on the fencing room

in one of Maria Grazia's favorite films,

Visconti's, "The Innocent".

Mother and daughter are relaxed enough

for Rachele to tease Maria Grazia

that her first show might be her last.

The next show.

If there is a next show!

If! (laughs)

Thank you.

See ya. Thank you, Andy.

Ciao. Bye, I see you.

All right.

(women speaking in foreign language)

The only few moments of peace

are in the intimacy of the short drive back to the studio.

(relaxed music)

With her big show only one day away,

Maria Grazia goes straight back to the studio.

She has another visit

from an influential magazine editor.

Stefano Tonchi, editor in chief

of American fashion magazine "W",

has known Maria Grazia

since their student days together in Florence.

Maria Grazia, she had a dark look, what we used to say,

you know, a little bit like goth, a little bit crazy.

We were both kids in Florence in the early '80s.

We were fashion animals.

So you would go from new romantic to bohemians,

then to raggy kind of stuff like Culture Club.

This I think is a great opportunity

and I'm happy that she took it.

So I go back to the moral responsibility of fashion

and fashion designers,

I think that's something that I really think

you have the power,

you have the influence. No,

but I think. You can talk to people.

What do you think, Maria Grazia?

I think that anything that you do has a huge

audience, impact, Impact, yeah, influence.

that you are responsible.

What do you do about the

issue of too many skinny girls?

The whole issue.

Honestly, sometimes the people forget that in any case

we work in fashion

and the word mannequin is a specific thing.

Because some girls are skinny

because they are really skinny in natural way.

Other, no.

It's more important to be strong

than to be skin, probably. Skinny, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah.

That You have to be fit more in gene.

You can change the message

and you can have a positive message.

There is not only one story.

As Maria Grazia puts the finishing touches

to tomorrow's big show,

another branch of the Dior empire, jewellery,

prepares to open an expensive new store.

(light melodic music)

While all those rich clients are in town,

jewellery director, Victoire de Castellane,

hopes they'll take a shine to one of her shiny baubles.

Is it important when selling jewellery

for clients to see the pieces themselves, in a way?

Of course! (laughs)

But we have clients who are just buying without seeing

the jewellery.

Really? Yes.

Does that surprise you?

I think that's a very eccentric way to buy

and I think that's very good way to buy! (laughs)

It means that people are, what can I say, in fashion.

(relaxed music)

It certainly does in this shop,

where some of the pieces cost over a million euros.

At their industrial beauty complex,

a couple of hours south of Paris,

Dior make products that are a little more affordable.

Here, they churn out a never-ending stream of potions,

lotions and lipsticks.

(upbeat music)

In the darkened basement of the beauty laboratories,

they test more and more ways to profit

from our apparently endless desire

to look younger for longer.

(light melodic music)

Paris Fashion Week.

The day has arrived for Maria Grazia

to reveal her first Dior collection.

She has had only 10 weeks to prepare for it.

The world's fashion media

are fascinated to see if she can pull it off.

I see my daughter, she was obsessed about the looks.

Yes.

She change herself, also, honestly, in the same day,

Yes. three, four time.

My daughter, 10, she's the same.

She puts things

together herself. So you have to give them

different things.

Another hugely influential fashion figure,

especially in the vital new markets of the East,

Angelica Cheung, editor of Vogue China, gets a sneak peek.

We are speaking about equality,

Yes. the same opportunity

Yes. for men and women.

Because I, have a boy and girl,

I want that they have the same opportunities

in life. That shows more humor,

that shows more confidence Inner humor. (laughs)

Yes, I can see there is a more whimsical feeling about it.

British model, Ruth Bell, is opening the show.

There's one big difference between her

and the other models in the line-up.

Ruth?

Ruth, we're just talking about,

you're the only girl with no braids.

Why, I want braids! (laughs)

I mean, there is nowhere to put a little braid in this.

Don't mess it up!

Last season I had no hair,

so I would never, ever go into hair.

This is my first show this season with hair,

so I have to actually go and get something done to it.

You had a shaved head.

I did, completely shaved.

Yeah. How did that work,

professionally?

Amazingly, yeah, It's kind of

the reason why I'm here, (laughs) let's be real.

That you had a shaved head? Yeah, yeah.

You wanted braids. I came prepared.

Hey, look who's behind you!

Found you. Hi!

The other big difference about Ruth

is that she has an identical twin.

May is also modeling today.

How did you get into this business?

How long have you been in it?

We went to Paris for a holiday about five years ago

and somebody came up to us.

We didn't believe him, we thought he was like a fake.

My mom thought he was trying to sell us something,

so hurried us away and he dropped his card in our backpack.

Yeah. Without us knowing.

And then exactly a year later, we found the card,

emailed the guy and turns out he was totally legit,

like, really nice guy,

and we were apologizing profusely

for being really rude to him.

How old were you?

15 when we got scouted, 16 when we got signed.

Can I ask an impolite, how old are you now?

20.

We don't look 20,

but I promise you we are. We are 57,

we just age really well. (laughs)

Now, in this business you're not young.

No, we're not.

We're pretty much at retirement.

It hurts me every day.

_ Yeah, I've never thought about it like that,

but thanks for bringing that up!

Thanks for scaring us,

that our career's nearly over. (laughs)

(relaxed music)

As final preparations are being made backstage,

out front, the world's media and the 1,000 VIP guests

are in a fashionable frenzy of anticipation.

(light melodic music) (crowds chattering)

We're just waiting because we want to enjoy the show

by the new designer from Dior

and we are very excited to discover it.

I believe it will be absolutely wonderful.

What makes you think that?

Just because I trust Dior to have chosen someone.

Outside the Rodin Museum, the rich, the thin

and the fashionably face-lifted

assemble for the hottest show of fashion week.

Where are you from?

From Moscow.

Dior show, we are waiting, (laughs) something special,

something nice.

Backstage, the models are ready for the show,

except one who has only just arrived to have her hair done.

There was a girl that passed out at a previous show

and now she's sick,

and so she will not be joining us here

and I have taken her outfit.

Runway veteran, Julia Nobis,

has been drafted into the show at two hours' notice.

I'd just gone back home.

I was about to have a shower and wash stuff out of my hair

and then go off to my fittings,

which I guess now will be rescheduled until after this.

(tense music)

The VIPs start to arrive.

The lower ranks through the pack of paparazzi

at the front gate,

but the VVIPs are invited to enter through a side gate,

with high security and selected photographers.

Kate Moss, of course.

A Chinese star with her accompanying press pack.

Maybe the back? Yeah!

And avoiding photographers

and with never less than four beefy bodyguards,

the most important VIP of all,

Dior's owner, France's richest man, Bernard Arnault,

who is led straight to the back door.

Rihanna.

Natalie Portman.

And backstage, the last-minute touches

to Maria Grazia's creations,

the 64 models flown in for the occasion.

So exciting to see all the clothes, all the girls.

They've transformed these beautiful young women.

And braid-less Ruth has been chosen

to lead the whole parade.

I just did Ruth. Did you?

What did you do?

Have her like an '80s vibe, d'you know what I mean?

I did a little, I don't want to mess it up.

(Ruth laughs)

It's like-- It took ages to do it.

In its unconformity, it's conformed.

Everything is ready.

Is it nerve-racking at this point?

I have to maintain calm. (laughs)

Inside, though?

It's a secret. (laughs)

My secret.

(upbeat music)

The collection says a number of different things

about the Dior woman today

because there wasn't just one look.

There are the tarot card dresses,

you know, Dior was a great magical thinker.

He certainly believed in lucky numbers and lucky symbols.

So I think she picks up on the power of magic.

How was it?

There was the fencing section which, I suppose, presents

or suggests the idea of a woman being strong

and being powerful, but also being deft and being swift.

And then there was also the section that reimagines

the Dior codes of tailoring which include the tuxedo jacket,

the bar jacket.

How was it? It was good.

Not finished yet.

No. There's the finale to come.

And you didn't smile, did you?

No, of course not.

You don't smile, it's fashion.

How does Maria Grazia's first show compare

to Dior's first show, with the New Look?

Of course, they're totally different

and if we were to see the New Look today,

would it look so new?

No, because fashion is about reinvention.

It is about change.

Maria Grazia's first show does draw on the Dior legacy,

the Dior history, the Dior language,

whilst also looking very new.

(audience applauds) (audience cheering)

Anna Wintour tries to make

her usual quick getaway.

I thought the show was very feminine

and very delicate, yes.

So I'm very proud as an Italian girl.

A girl and an Italian.

Thank you, girls! (all cheering)

It's wonderful to have Maria here

and to have a woman at Dior,

it means so much to all of us.

What do you think about the feminist slogans

on the T-shirts?

I love the feminist slogans

and I'm all for her revolution.

How many of your hats were used?

I think we used about seven or eight.

We added one just at the end,

Oh, did you? so I can't remember.

That it? Yeah, yeah, this is it.

Do you like his hats, can I ask?

I love his hats.

I love everything about him.

He's incredibly talented and a lovely person.

(all cheering)

The fashion world is notoriously lavish

in its praise.

Today, even more than usual.

Reactions are so positive, I'm very happy.

Do you think those reactions are sincere?

I think so.

I tell you, I have some experience now with the business.

They always tell you, "It's nice, it's fine."

But you see during the show,

I think I got a lot of positive reaction.

Hi! Hi.

Within minutes,

Maria Grazia is being proclaimed

the newest star in the Dior firmament.

(crowd applauds)

Wonderful, fresh, new, with a lot of energy.

I think that's what we really needed.

And, protected by tight security,

the ultimate boss, Monsieur Arnault.

How was it? I thought it was wonderful.

And she's so bright and it was so Dior.

So it's a terrific success, I feel.

Can you tell

whether it will be a commercial success?

That I am sure.

Fantastic. No problem.

We'll be out of stock very soon.

I am happy because I did a good job, for myself.

That's important.

I very feel well with my conscience

because I'm a very serious woman

and I think that a company like Dior

gives a lot of jobs for many people

and so the people like me that are in this position

has a huge responsibility, especially in this time.

Lydia.

(soft piano music)

It's 70 years since Christian Dior

changed the face of fashion,

creating an empire from his south of France retreat.

His blueprint for a brand, using headlines of fashion

to sell a range of luxury goods and cosmetics,

has been copied by many.

Despite recession and economic upheaval,

the public appetite for luxury continues to grow.

The emperor may be dead, but his empire lives on.

(relaxed orchestral music)