The appointment of Delphine Arnault on Wednesday as Chairman and CEO of Christian Dior Couture means that Dior is in the open arms of two strong women.

Yes, Anne is being the provocateur with these words, but in these challenging times, I can be happy that Dior will be run by two women who I admire deeply.

No one has been more committed to use her fashion shows platform to tell women’s stories than Maria Grazia Chiuri. Nothing is sacred in life, but there’s no reason to believe that ‘women’ will be banished any time soon from the Christian Dior narrative.

Dior ambassador Anya Taylor-Joy has a life-long passion and fascination with animals. The star adores animal prints, making her the perfect face for Dior Beauty’s Dior Mitzah collection.

Christian Dior’s original muse Mitzah Bricard inspired him to recognize the leopard print as a reputable trend.

Mitzah’s advice was: “When a man wants to send you flowers, always say — ‘my florist is Cartier.’” “Madame Bricard is one of the rare people for whom elegance is their sole reason for living,” wrote Dior.

So that is one side of the investigative coin about French women in 1947.

Simone de Beauvoir’s ‘The Second Sex’ was published in 1949, when the French existentialist philosopher, social theorist and feminist activist was age 41.

The lifelong partner and lover of Jean Paul Sartre wrote a piece for Vogue in 1947, arguing that “Femininity is a Trap”. Dior’s Chiuri used the 1947 statement in her Pre-Fall 2022 show.

The times were very complex for women around the world, but certainly in Europe and America. Having spent several years in the workforce, with men fighting the war in Europe, many women weren’t so keen on leaving their factory work as welders and auto-assembly workers.

Mitzah Bricard — referenced in our collage above posing with a sculpture, wearing a silk chiffon Christian Dior dress from the 1947 New Look Collection — not only wore animal prints lavishly, but frequently in scarves wrapped around her wrists.

Mitzah’s advice was: “When a man wants to send you flowers, always say — ‘my florist is Cartier.’” “Madame Bricard is one of the rare people for whom elegance is their sole reason for living,” wrote Dior.

At least one wrist was visibly scarred after a suicide attempt based on my reading. In this moment, we do not know why.

We contrast Madame Bricard with Christian Dior’s own sister Catherine, who in 1941 joined the French resistance; was arrested in 1944, repeatedly tortured by the Gestapo [never betraying her comrades]; sent to the women’s concentration camp, Ravensbrück, only to be transferred to further abysmal camps: Torgau, Abteroda, and finally, in 1945, to Markkleeberg.

The story ended well; Catherine survived and returned to France.

Back in Paris Christian Dior was working on a fragrance with Mizza Bricard, and Catherine walked into the room, interrupting their brainstorming search to name the fragrance that “smells of love.”

Design lore has it that “Ah, here!” Bricard exclaimed, “Miss Dior!” An iconic fragrance was born.

Christian Dior — then and now as his spirit lives on — surrounded himself with a diverse group of fascinating women. The difference between 1947 and now, is that the ladies are in charge. Forgive me for being blunt, but that’s an inspiring fact and reason to support the brand.

Chiuri has an incredibly developed 6th sense about these female intersections that synthesize seemingly diverse personalities and lifestyles into a new story for modern women. And everything that I know about Delphine Arnault, the oldest child of Bernard Arnault, is that she is an eager co-conspirator in the tradition of Catherine, in the ongoing journey to unearth the still-buried truths of women’s history.

AOC is deeply eager and invested to watch this modern Dior story unfold in fantastic new ways. May this limited-edition beauty collection inspire and reinforce the ongoing story of animal prints in fashion at Dior and beyond.

Women who wear animal prints sometimes have — ahem — a certain reputation in respectable circles.

We must remember that the Egyptian goddess of wisdom Seshat and other Egyptian goddesses were often revealed to be wearing cheetah or leopard hides in unearthed Egyptian slabs. Animal prints signaled status, and yes, that status frequently signaled a certain degree of sexual prowess and power.

It was monotheism that sought to destroy and curtail by every means possible that female power. And today’s House of Dior is committed to inspiring women to take it back. I adore the French for many reasons, but the chutzpah of putting Adam’s first wife Lilith with Eve at the entrance portal of the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris is a defining statement about the French psyche compared to America’s.

To the best of my knowledge, the statuary was unharmed in the Notre Dame cathedral fire. Therefore, it’s time to ride, ladies. We all know how central the equestrian spirit is to the House of Dior under Maria Grazia Chiuri. ~ Anne