Dior and I
Openly gay documentarian Frédéric Tcheng’s new film Dior and I, opening May 1 in Denver, observes creative director Raf Simons preparing his first haute couture show for the House of Dior. Tcheng seamlessly weaves together the eight intense weeks of Simons and his staff preparing their show, intercutting these observational moments with archival footage of Christian Dior to give a sense of the fashion house’s history as its future is unfolding. We spoke with Tcheng about making the film, to give Out Front fashionistas a preview.
How do you identify with Christian Dior?
“His creative struggles mirrored mine. He was a late bloomer [who] worked for other people for a long time — several designers before he started his own line when he was 40. He had several careers, and he came from somewhat of an architectural background. I started as an engineer and got my degree in civil engineering. He was reserved, and that’s something I share with him. When I read Dior’s autobiography, he seemed totally genuine in the way he expressed himself. I liked his simplicity. He doesn’t seem self-conscious about how he comes across. I liked the humanity of Christian Dior and how he talked about his collaborators. You get a vivid sense of him and his team from his book. That’s why I decided to use it in the film, and after I met Raf it became obvious — there were so many parallels that the process had not changed in 50 years. It was a way of juxtaposing the past and the present. The two could cohabit and create something new. The voice of Christian Dior became a big part of it as I was researching and as I was shooting. It became very clear as a voiceover. In editing, we started building the film around that.”
Stay tuned for the FULL interview in the April 15 issue!
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