Tia-Thuy Nguyen uses quartz stones to make artwork from legendary Lady Dior bag

This is an "adaptation" of the legendary Lady Dior bag, inspired by the purity and comprehensiveness of clouds. As known, Lady Cloud makes a strong impression of to being crafted from quartz, sparkling and durable. 

In January 2024, a representative of The House of Dior contacted Tia-Thuy Nguyen for cooperation to create a work of art from the legendary Lady Dior bag. This is a project of Dior in collaboration with talented artists in many countries called "Lady Dior As Seen By". It takes the form of a traveling exhibition, traveling through many cities, displaying works in which Dior collaborates with artists to sketch a picture that reflects the creative context. internationally, transcending principles and borders. This special collaboration is also initiated to honor founder Christian Dior's passion for art.

Dior proposed two months to complete the work. Even though she is busy with many large art projects, Tia-Thuy Nguyen, an artist with the motto "always work hard with every opportunity", did not hesitate to nod.

Lady Dior As Seen By is a project honoring the legendary Lady Dior bag. The name Lady Dior itself is already special and now under the hands and infinite creativity of the world's leading contemporary artists, it will take on a new charm. Dior calls the project a captivating modern adventure driven by creative passion.

When witnessing the finished artwork "Lady Cloud" by Tia-Thuy Nguyen, representatives from Dior expressed surprise at the performance of the work, as well as the connection between the spirit of The House of Dior and the artist ego. When spending more time with "Lady Cloud", the Dior like the audience, As known, "Lady Cloud" will be displayed and classified as one of Dior's special artifacts. It is a work of art, far different from the concept of commercial cooperation to create limited edition products sold in stores.

Cloud, quartz, hand-applied and Tia-Thuy Nguyen

When received the invitation, Tia-Thuy Nguyen spent time carefully researching the Lady Dior bag from a creative perspective and started making sketches on paper. Tia-Thuy Nguyen created a 3D prototype in clay. This is how she can accurately visualize the structure and proportion of the work in real space.

Tia-Thuy Nguyen explains choosing quartz as the main material for this work because of its meaning. As in feng shui, quartz is a stone that balances qi, helps calm the mind. From an aesthetic perspective, quartz resembles clouds, allowing light to pass through, bending its direction to reflect its surroundings.

To find the right block of stone that meets the desired clarity, hardness and size, Tia-Thuy Nguyen and her colleagues have to go to famous, even find more in some other countries. After many searches, Tia-Thuy Nguyen also found the most suitable stone block to make "Lady Cloud" - a 103kg crystal tree in Phan Thiet.

Next, the stone sculptures are created and the large stone blocks are divided into hundreds of thousands of tiny quartz crystals with different angles and colors. The cutting and polishing are all done entirely by hand. After classification, Tia-Thuy Nguyen and the artisans began the process of attaching stones to create a gentle, flexible cloud with color changes from light to dark surrounding Lady Cloud. 

When art combines with fashion

Tia-Thuy Nguyen said that during the creative process, many times her collaborators thought it would not be possible to complete it due to very little time and there were also times when it seemed like it was over when Tia-Thuy Nguyen Couldn't find a manufacturing plan. But step by step, they actually went from the starting point to the final destination to create a unique Lady Cloud bag sculpture.

Utilizing the power of light to highlight the work, creating a unique message for each viewer, Lady Cloud is covered with thousands of quartz crystals meticulously arranged according to color and texture. Under the lights, it will bring different feelings to viewers based on each moment and each angle.

Tia-Thuy Nguyen shared that “Dior has researched and followed my artistic journey and found similarities, now is the right time for both sides to work together. This combination is not only a collaboration to"adapt" a Dior icon but also an intersection between two design thoughts and philosophies. I bring my signature aesthetic and spontaneous personality, and Dior represents exemplary elegance with its classic bag shape. For me, this is my destiny with a timeless symbol. I am very happy that we have more opportunities to meet and interact with the diversity of the world. Through this exhibition, I hope the audience and my colleagues will see a new possibility, a new way of expression and motivate us to move forward together."

And when talking about this unexpected collaboration opportunity, the artist said "This project has shown us that Vietnamese artists and art no longer only see the "round" sky anymore. I feel very happy that we have more opportunities to meet and interact with the diversity of the world. Through this exhibition, I hope my audience and colleagues will see a new possibility, a new way of expression, and motivate us to move forward together."

Lady Cloud is currently on display for the public to admire at the Lady Dior As Seen By exhibition at An Gallery – Union Square, 159 Dong Khoi, Ben Nghe ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, right next to Dior's store at HCMC. It is opened from now until April 14, 2024.