The Jungle Print
Christian Dior Boutique, circa 1955.
From his first show, Christian Dior used a leopard print, which remains a House code. Mizza Bricard, the couturier’s muse and faithful collaborator, best embodied the figure of the femme fatale and was particularly fond of this motif.
“I thought that such a unique nature, with its inimitable excesses, would wonderfully balance the overly cautious nature which I owe to my Norman roots,” wrote Christian Dior about Mizza.
In 1947, Christian Dior named one of his models Jungle, after the leopard motif he had developed with the silk manufacturer Bianchini-Férier for his collection.
This print can be found on several models: the evening dress Africaine in chiffon, the ensemble Jungle, and the dress Reynolds. It was often used again by Christian Dior, as well as his successors…
... on hats by Yves Saint Laurent…
... on fur on turned-down collars by Marc Bohan…
... or as a total look by Gianfranco Ferré.
John Galliano paid tribute to Mizza in his first Haute Couture collection by using this motif on his MitzahDior design.
Raf Simons used it as an all-over look on an evening dress.
Nowadays Maria Grazia Chiuri endlessly reinterprets it in pop versions with a multitude of brightly coloured variations, on transparent and shiny materials.
© Dior Focus/Ivan Vandel ; © Droits réservés ; © Association Willy Maywald/ADAGP, Paris, 2022 ; © Pat English ; © Guy Marineau
