History of the necklace that defined Dior J'adore fragrance

Since 1999, the Dior's Maasai necklace embodies the intense essence of the perfume J’adore by Dior. After being draped around the neck of Charlize Theron in the campaign that made it famous two decades ago, it now makes a grand return around the neck of Rihanna, proudly displayed. Indeed, the Barbadian star has been chosen to be the new face of J’adore by Dior, in a campaign by the American video maker Steven Klein released on the first of September, as iconic as the first one. Yet, the true star of the campaign, almost stealing the spotlight from the singer, is the necklace she wears. Let’s take a look back at the story of the jewel that made the J’adore perfume legendary.

The Maasai necklace was created in 1997, during the first Dior Haute Couture show by John Galliano, where he presented a collection mixing Belle Époque attributes and elements of Maasai culture. He skillfully combined elegant silhouettes composed of skirts and corsets, with waistlines reminiscent at times of the famous New Look of Christian Dior of 1947, with oversized jewelry seemingly defying gravity, such as tall feathered headpieces and especially necklaces similar to those worn by Giraffe women, all renamed "Maasai necklace". At the launch of the perfume in 1999, the Maasai necklace naturally became the key accessory of the campaign, given its resemblance to the golden bottle it contains.

Although it was Charlize Theron who made it popular, she was not the first to promote it. It was Carmen Kass, an Estonian model, who starred in its very first campaign directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino, wearing a choker version of the necklace created by Hervé Van der Straeten. However, it was in 2004 that the perfume and necklace made a lasting impression, thanks to the campaign also produced by Mondino starring Charlize Theron as the main character, dressed in a stunning golden gown and, of course, the iconic necklace, which she dramatically tears off as she walks confidently through the halls of Versailles. A few years later, in 2011, the jewel returned to the small screen, still worn by the woman who popularized it, in a commercial under the direction of Jean-Jacques Annaud set backstage at a fashion show. A vintage version from the SS98 collection was then seen around the neck of Gigi Hadid in 2021 during the Savage Fenty vol.3 show, while a blue version was worn by Rihanna that same year. Coincidence, premonition, or mere chance? We don’t know, but what we do know is that the new campaign released recently features a radiant Rihanna, and that, we adore.