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PEOPLE & ARTS Saturday 24 auguSt 2019

Model became Dior muse by knocking on his door

By HILARY FOX around and shoved around tel — that was enormous.
Associated Press and pricked and pinned,” So those five girls became
LONDON (AP) — Before her daughter explains. ‘supermodels.’”
there were supermodels, Galitzine found one Dior Dawnay wrote her memoir
there were “mannequins” dress hidden at the back of in Majorca, where she so-
— living, breathing women a wardrobe after her moth- cialized with Prince Rainier
who played an active role er died in 2016. and Grace Kelly, who were
in designing haute cou- “There was this beauti- there on their honeymoon.
ture by standing very, very ful, wool worsted tight- “She’d spend all day writ-
still. Designers and artisans waisted dress that’s called ing her book and then not
would pin, prod or tuck fab- ‘Nonette’ that was original have to worry about food
ric and toiles to the manne- Christian Dior, numbered. If because she’d go to this
quins to bring sketches and you did a test on it, it would fantastic yacht and have
ideas to life. probably have his DNA dinner,” Galitzine says. In
In 1950, one such manne- dust on it because he actu- photos of her mother and
quin, the British model Jean ally made it on my mother Kelly from that period, she
Dawnay, went to work full- in 1950,” she says. “And it says, “they looked so simi-
time in Paris at the fashion was the dress that she wore lar actually. They’re very
house of Christian Dior. at the original Savoy show much that ‘50s style with
This contract alone was that brought Christian Dior the scarves and their point-
enough to earn her news- to London in spring 1950.” ed glasses.”
paper coverage in Britain The dress is part of the V&A The comparisons didn’t
at the time, but she also show. In footage of the Sa- end there: Dawnay also
wrote a book about her voy Hotel show, Dawnay went on to marry a prince
experiences. “Model Girl,” wears a white debutante — a Russian emigre to Brit-
published in 1956, went be- dress called “Innocence,” ain. She became Princess
hind the scenes of fashion a white embroidered dress George Galitzine.
shows, couture houses and “Muguet de Mai,” a silk In later years, she wrote
photoshoots, lifting the veil coat called “Ravel” and a another book about mod-
on the hard work that goes dinner dress made of straw eling, made regular ap-
into glamour. lace. pearances on quiz shows,
Now Dawnay’s daughter, This image made available by Zuleika Books shows the book After Dawnay left Dior, her advised stores on fashion,
Katya Galitzine, is re-releas- cover image of ‘Working For Christian Dior’ by Jean Dawnay. celebrity status continued and did charity work.
ing a section of the mem- Associated Press to rise. In an interview with The
oir as “Working for Christian work. adapted very well to what- In 1951, Vogue took the un- Associated Press at a Dior
Dior” (Zuleika Books) to co- “She only went to the Hous- ever people wanted, and usual step of sending her 50th anniversary exhibition
incide with the “Christian es whose perfumes she she had an 18-inch waist.” and several other models in 1997, Dawnay recalled
Dior: Designer of Dreams” knew, because that was Although she spoke no to an event in Australia, the excitement of those
exhibition at the V&A Mu- how she knew the names, French, Dawnay’s cold Galitzine says. “Clothes days: “After the war, with
seum in London. and every single one of calling paid off, and she had been sent to locations, the austerity and clothes
Galitzine says her mother them wanted her, so she accepted a contract at but once the clothes got rationing, coupons, when
arrived in France on the must have had something,” Dior’s atelier. there, they’d find pretty lo- Dior came on the scene,
way back from a modeling Galitzine says. “I mean, “They had to clock in, like in cal girls, local models, to be it was such a sensation —
job in Venice and spent a she did have something. a factory, at 9 o’clock, and the model. To actually pay these incredibly feminine,
few days knocking on de- But she was very beautiful, then she would stand, liter- on an aircraft for five girls romantic, beautiful clothes
signers’ doors, asking for she was very elegant. She ally stand and be pushed and put them up in a ho- with so much material.”q

Daughter’s sleep training influenced

Knightley’s latest role

By LOUISE DIXON fellow thespians. “Any tivities to a British newspa-
Associated Press actresses out there, do per. The memo proved
LONDON (AP) — Keira not move the child from that the U.K. and U.S. gov-
Knightley’s edginess while the cot to the bed when ernments were in collusion
playing a real-life Iraq War you’re just about to play a over spying on countries
whistle-blower in the politi- lead role in a film that has that were wavering in their
cal thriller “Official Secrets” a lot of words in it because support for the war. Af-
wasn’t all an act. The de- remembering them is quite ter the information hit the
cision to sleep train her tricky,” Knightley said. front pages of newspa-
3-year-old daughter during The actress had a lot of im- pers, Gun confessed and
filming meant she wasn’t portant lines playing Kath- was subsequently arrested
faking it when it came to arine Gun, a translator at and charged under the
the emotional side of the the British government’s Official Secrets Act.
role. “I felt very on edge, communications head- Knightley admits that de-
but for different reasons. quarters in the early 2000s. spite being a politically en-
So I used it all,” Knightley While there, Gun leaked a gaged 18-year-old at the
joked during a recent in- confidential United States time of the Iraq War, she In this Monday, Feb. 18, 2019, file photo, actress Keira Knightley
poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the
terview. It’s not a method National Security Agency had no memory of Gun’s film “The Aftermath” in London.
she’d recommend to her email exposing illegal ac- extraordinary story.q Associated Press