Pretty’s the new face of Dior

Pretty’s the new face of Dior

Opera

norman lebrecht

December 29, 2023

The  House of Dior has named South African opera singer Pretty Yende as ambassador for its Maria Grazia Chiuri collections. It says she ’embodies the audacity, grace and elegance of Dior style, a femininity continually reinvented’.

She says: ‘I am an ambassador of Dior… no other opera singer before.’

Comments

  • Marietjie Turck says:

    Well done Pretty Yende! Roud South African.

  • Gerry Feinsteen says:

    We celebrate her role now, but is she aware of Dior’s work making dresses for the wives of Nazi leaders? More recently Dior had employed John Galliano, creative director of 15 years, who openly declared his ‘love’ for Hitler.
    Check out Dior’s woke t-shirts, priced at 1,000 USD each (too expensive? —try San Francisco for a steal of a price).

    It’s all boycott and go woke until the check stops at you.

    • kaa says:

      jesus christ !(so to speak). is everything in the world related to Nazis and the holocaust. Enough !!! Give the world a break. Please !!

      • Gerry Feinsteen says:

        You might want to check on the recency of slavery in the US. It ended a long time ago.

        Racism has been around just as long. Prejudice affects people of all races.

        The woke among us will be quick to point out contradictions —precisely those that benefit their weak little arguments—.

        Ms Yende is a wonderful artist and clearly the brand is capitalizing on her diversity points— an opera singer, of course.

        Wishing you and your family a most delightful 2024; even if you’re antisemitic and racist, there’s no space for hatred in this heart. Joy to the World

    • George says:

      So making Pretty Yende an Ambassador is even more important!

    • V.Lind says:

      It was not the House of Dior that designed for Nazi wives — he was an employee.

      And when Galliano shot his mouth off, he was dismissed.

  • Sue Sonata Form says:

    She looks absolutely gorgeous in that gown.

  • George says:

    Christian Dior’s sister was deported to Buchenwald.
    And Dior fired Galliano because of his remarks.

  • Roxanne Pedlar says:

    This is a really good move for her. No one watches the Opera as much as they do watch television commercials.

  • Tiredoiftall says:

    One word…lovely.

  • Blanche says:

    It is pure inverted racism. Not very nice to do that. Next will be a transgender ?

    • Tiredoftiall says:

      Wow…can you type in your hood?

      There’s a special place in hell for racists.

    • Hazell says:

      Please Blanche can we keep racism out of this? Pretty is an amazing and beautiful person inside and out
      without malice and deserve our respect.

    • V.Lind says:

      How? Would you say the same of Naomi Campbell? This is a lovely and high-profile artist whose work means wearing beautiful gowns, and she has been engaged as (one of many) brand ambassadors.

      I hope someone sees some of the TV advertisements and lets us know if they use opera music in her commercials. I read somewhere many years ago that sales of Lakmé shot up when British Airways used the Flower Duet in a TV commercial. I personally knew a young man who had never mentioned any interest in opera who rushed out and bought it. He subsequently went to see Wilhelmenia Wiggins Fernandez in concert after seeing Diva, and after that became an opera subscriber.

      This has been a good month for serious music — a well-regarded movie (though I do not know how it is doing at the box-office), the New Year’s Honours list and this appointment — might Bradley Cooper, the King and the House of Dior be the beginning of a small fightback? Of the demise of the demise?

  • H.Fourie says:

    Immensely proud as a South African

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