Dior and Saks inaugurate their Christmas collaboration with a festive event

Forget about lighting the Rockefeller Center tree as the official holiday lights and decorations begin in the heart of New York City! Saks Fifth Avenue is eclipsing the famous Norway spruce, illuminated on the Wednesday after Thanksgiving, with its storefront on the Monday before the annual Thanksgiving holiday. The chic Fifth Avenue retailer pushed it this year with its partnership with Dior for the activation of the “Carousel of Dreams,” marking a first for the retailer's holiday décor.

The show, which goes beyond the shop windows and displays a huge circular façade that references the signs of the zodiac, central to Dior's women's offerings since 2017 and which lights up in nine directions until Sunday, began with a logistical feat to close rush-hour traffic on Fifth Avenue for approximately 12 minutes so guests like Tracee Ellis Ross, Alexandra Daddario, Nina Dobrev, Rachel Zegler, Lola Tung and Ashley Park sitting in private bleachers across the street they could absorb the event.

Saks CEO Marc Metrick kicked off the events by asking “who's ready” to the sound of an NYPD siren in the background. However, Metrick was enthusiastic about the retailer's long-term working relationship, noting that the event was the first of its kind for him.

“This iconic holiday campaign in partnership with Dior is the first and we are honored to work together for more than 70 years on this multifaceted collaboration that will come to life across the entire Saks ecosystem, from Saks.com to the stunning storefront. For decades, we have featured our Christmas window display and light show as our gift to New York City, and this year the gift is even more spectacular than ever,” he said, also thanking Dior for its “creative vision and impeccable design in helping us.” create the most ambitious exhibition in Saks history.

Next, Delphine Arnault, president and CEO of Christian Dior Couture, took the stage to welcome guests. “It is a dream come true to be here with you, in the middle of Fifth Avenue, to celebrate this amazing collaboration, which will write another page in the history of Dior and Saks as long-standing partners,” Arnault said joyfully, adding: “It is a wonderful tribute to the dreams and magic of the Christmas season and showcases the creativity, joy and savoir-faire of Dior. Our teams have worked passionately 24 hours a day for over a year on this project without precedents, creating this unique façade and 24 shop windows that celebrate the magic of Dior.” she thanked Maria Grazia Chiuricreative director of ready-to-wear, couture and women's accessories, for designing the Martha Graham Dance Company costumes worn for a performance as part of the opening.

Dior ambassador Jennifer Lawrence was next to offer the performance of the night. As she took the microphone to say, “Thank you,” she exclaimed, covered her mouth, and continued saying, “Oh, that was so hard my belt came off,” which got the crowd into stitches.

After the actress noted that it looked like the “perfect place to celebrate the holidays,” she said, “Let's light up the night.” Metrick and Arnault joined Lawrence with a countdown of three, two, one. After a slight delay, the music turned up, the dancers left the store, the window curtains were raised and the giant zodiac sign, symbol and flower-adorned light show cut through the façade. The elegant yet dynamic performance featured male and female dancers in fluid, sheer navy blue costumes. It gave it a distinctly French celebratory vibe despite the dance group's American roots. Rockettes, these were not; nor did Elton John, who gave a “final” performance at the event last year. Fireworks capped the spectacle to give it added emphasis despite disturbing New York's maligned pigeon community.

Within 15 minutes, the event was over and New York's finest were busy ushering selfie-taking guests out of the center of the reopened active thoroughfare and onto the sidewalk. As pedestrians also began filtering out to the sidewalk across the street, event guests took refuge from the crowd at a cocktail party at L' Avenue's New York outpost inside the store.

Inside, Metrick spoke with FashionNetwork.com and gladly accepted the role of starting the Christmas spirit on Fifth Avenue. “Of course, we started! People celebrate the day after Halloween these days,” he enthused, adding, “We like to be an inspiration to people and their lifestyle; that's what we stand for. Saks doesn't just sell things , we want to be a part of their lives, and that's how it's done.”

He attributed its success to a lot of collaboration during the year in its making. “I don't know who asked who first, but they're a great partner and you can't go wrong with them for something like this,” he said of the Dior-focused New York to Paris-themed exhibitions. He also gave the executive bragging rights by pointing out that the exclusive collection is only online at Saks. “It's on Saks.com, which is very important because they're not online anywhere else in the world.” Typically, retailers other than Dior.com only sell Dior sunglasses and beauty items online.

While it was a night for the retailer to fly high, the following day an article reported by BoF appeared claiming that the retailer had been plagued by allegations of non-payment from several suppliers, claiming that they were finally paid. CEO Richard Baker of Hudson Bay Company, Saks' parent company, told WWD the day before that he had raised $340 million by leveraging his real estate holdings to help fuel Saks' growth. Good news: while the partnership with Dior will keep the lights on Fifth Avenue until January 5th2024, the cash injection will ensure to keep the lights on well into 2024, when the retailer celebrates its 100thth anniversary.