The 2024 Paris Olympic Opening Ceremony brought the world together with memorable performances from talented icons last Friday, July 26. The stars Lady Gaga, Celine Dion, Aya Nakamura, and Axelle Saint-Cirel shone on stage along the Seine wearing custom Dior Haute Couture looks designed by the Parisian house’s creative visionaries Maria Grazia Chiuri, Stephen Jones, and Kim Jones.
Lady Gaga in Dior Haute Couture in Paris
Lady Gaga, photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images, courtesy of Dior.
Lady Gaga’s Paris 2024 opening performance was inspired by and celebrated the spirit of the French cabaret and its brightest stars. The epic song and dance was set at Square Barye at the tip of Saint Louis where Lady Gaga dazzled the crowd by singing, Mon Truc en Plumes, by icon Zizi Jeanmaire.In tribute to choreographer, Roland Petit, who Mr. Christian Dior designed for, Lady Gaga flew around the stage in her Haute Couture Dior created by Maria Grazia Chiuri and Stephen Jones.
Photo by © Sophie Carre, courtesy of Dior.
Lady Gaga’s look combined flare and volume with multiple layers of silhouettes in one, centered around feathers. She was dressed in a black feathered jacket over a black satin bustier. Under the jacket, the bustier was paired with a pink and black embroidered skirt made out of sequins and feathers. By the end of Lady Gaga’s performance, she was dressed down to the bustier with a white feathered pom pom to accompany her. The 10 back up dancers and seventeen musicians in Lady Gaga’s performance were dressed in looks inspired by Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina (1954).
Aya Nakamura, photo by Esa Alexander / POOL / AFP, courtesy of Dior.
The ceremony followed with a masterful tribute from singer-songwriter, Aya Nakamura, performed at Pont des Arts. Nakamura’s performance was a compirised melody of her tracks, Pookie and Djadja, where she was accompanied on stage by 60 musicians from the Republican Guard and 36 choristers from the Choir of the French Army. Nakamura debuted a tribute to the French-speaking world in all its fascinating diversity. Her performance connected the Musée du Louvre and the Institut de France celebrating the unique encounters between eras, cultures, tradition and modernity, in the name of freedom.
Photo by © Sophie Carre, courtesy of Dior.
Photo by © Sophie Carre, courtesy of Dior.
Nakamura shimmered on stage in a dazzling asymmetrical gold feathered Haute Couture dress from the Fall/Winter 2024-25 show designed by Chiuri. The silhouette of the dress is combined out of a corset and shorts where the feathers were entirely hand-embroidered one by one by Lemarié artisans, who also embellished the back-up dancer looks.
Dior Inspired by and Flying the French Flag
Opera singer, Axelle Saint-Cirel, took the opening ceremony by storm on the roof of one of the capital’s jewels, Grand Palais. Saint-Cirel’s spectacular performance pays tribute to France through the prism of its historic image. The opera singer performed the Marseillaise with 60 women choristers. The performance under the Paris skies paid homage to the women in history, transforming the French anthem into a symbol of unification.
Mezzo-Soprano Axelle Saint-Cirel, photo by Philippe Lopez / AFP, courtesy of Dior.
Saint-Cirel’s gown was designed by Chiuri that symbolically turned into the French Flag. The gown reflected the Houses intricate draping skills that is an iconic symbol of French Haute Couture. The spectacular creation was composed of a bustier in white silk that transcended into an asymmetrical silk crepe which was extended by a red train, connecting to the French Flag. The choristers wore Hellenic-inspiredpeplums in a palette of blue, white and red. This women’s choir held flags revisiting the work Freedom Woman Now by African-American artist Faith Ringgold (1930-2024) marked with the words “Femme,” “Liberté,” and “2024.”
Celine Dion Returns to the Stage Shining in Dior Gown
Photo by © Sophie Carre, courtesy of Dior.
Photo by © Sophie Carre, courtesy of Dior.
Celine Dion left an unforgettable impression, like always, as she retired to the stage at the Olympic opening ceremony. Dion’s comeback performance was held at the second floor of the Eiffel Tower where she sang EdithPiaf’s Hymne à l’Amour. She delivered a moving and inspiring performance dazzled in a gown designed specifically by Chiuri. Dion’s look was made out of a white silk georgette gown, embroidered with a hypnotic palette of sequence. The gown was magnified with over 500 meters of fringe, combined with thousands of silver beads. Dion’s solo closing performance was accompanied by pianist, Scott Price, in a black Oblique tuxedo designed by Kim Jones.
