Dior recently unveiled J’adore Gold Supreme shimmering eau de parfum, a limited-edition version of its best-selling J’adore perfume. The fruity-floral, with its notes of champaca flower, rose and Damas plum, is famously feminine, sophisticated and elegant.
In Gold Supreme, it gets a glittering twist: evoking liquid gold, the elixir inside each bottle is saturated in gold shimmer. Spray it on and – along with a swoon-worthy scent – a million sparkles envelop your skin, leaving a subtle golden sheen. What better way to face the gray days of rain than shining like a golden goddess?
And what better face to represent the fragrance than Hollywood’s most golden of goddesses, Charlize Theron. When she first became the face of J’adore in 2004, I thought, Now, there’s a perfect match. J’adore’s classy bottle always reminded me of those graceful African women with the gold plates encircling their swan necks. Theron, a former model who possesses the lithe grace of a gazelle, happens to be from South Africa.
When she first met Dior designer John Galliano, each found a kindred spirit in the other. Both love to overturn convention. Galliano has always been fashion’s bad boy – the pirate who loves to shock with his over-the-top yet genius designs. Theron, though not quite so outré, was obviously much more than a pretty face. In the movie Two Days in the Valley, she jumpstarted her career with tongue firmly in cheek, wrestling with brunette beauty Teri Hatcher in what still ranks as the catfight of the century. In Woody Allen’s Celebrity, she winked at the industry once again, sending up her status as an ex-model who just wanted to act.
Less than a decade later, Theron has gone from simple girl on the farm in Benoni, South Africa, to become the patron saint for models-turned-actresses everywhere. She won an Oscar for her role in Monster, fearlessly deglamorizing herself and gaining 30 pounds to play a serial killer, and she was nominated again last year for another unglamorous role in North Country.
When the two iconoclasts-turned-icons met, Galliano formed an exceptional relationship with Charlize, and the two have remained close ever since. Charlize inspires John, and John glorifies Charlize. At every awards ceremony, Theron turns up on the red carpet in larger-than-life couture by Galliano, wearing her Dior badge of honor proudly.
For J’adore Gold Supreme’s new ad campaign, Galliano turned to another iconoclast, photographer/video director Jean-Baptiste Mondino, best known for his subversive fashion images and edgy music videos for the likes of J. Lo, Bjork and Madonna. Mondino, a perfectionist notorious for having models freeze in one position for hours to capture his ideal fashion pose, proved to be the perfect collaborator.
In the J’adore ad, Theron stalks menacingly through a stately home, tossing earrings and diamond jewelry aside before stepping out of a figure-hugging black and gold couture gown. She looks womanly, elegant, and – a long way from her early starlet days – still deigns to go nude at the end. The movie star spurning symbols of luxury, the trappings of ostentation, laying herself bare – is this an anti-elitist statement? Parfums Christian Dior seems to be saying, "Forget codes. Forget riches, glitter, ostentation, celebrity." While these define modern luxury, Dior wants us to go beyond, to a timeless luxury where the price of objects is of no importance. What counts is the value you invest in them.
In the somewhat autobiographical film, Theron steps away from her roles as Oscar-winning actress, Hollywood goddess, even Stuart Townsend’s significant other, to embody the priceless luxury of being a woman, glorying in her femininity; in just being herself.
While we mortal women may be far removed from the pneumatic perfection of Charlize Theron, J’adore Gold Supreme is the great equalizer: with it, the film goddess has come down to earth, while its heady spritz of golden shimmer is designed to bring out the inner goddess within you and me.