Opening onto a reflecting pool in the heart of a lush garden, the Château de la Colle Noire exudes, through its bare stone facade, a lifestyle steeped in Provence and Christian Dior's dream life, who made this building his secluded home, far from the hustle and bustle of Paris.
Built in the 19th century, this family-style residence is distinguished by its two towers that embrace the main building. Enveloped in vines that run along its façade and stretched out under a shaded arbor, this villa, whose DNA is marked by the convivial spirit of the south and the refinement that couturier Christian Dior imposed on it, was restored in 1955 by architect André Svétchine.
The hexagonal entrance hall features a Provençal cobblestone floor patterned with a compass rose, reminiscent of Christian Dior's childhood home in Normandy.
This house, Christian Dior wrote in his memoirs, "I would like it to be my real home. The one where—if God grants me a long life—I can retire. The one where—if I can afford it—I can come full circle and find, in a different climate, the enclosed garden that protected my childhood. The one where I could finally live in peace, forgetting Christian Dior to simply become Christian again."
Completely redesigned, the vast Provençal villa is a succession of living rooms and bedrooms for visiting friends, accessed via the huge staircase with overhead lighting.
The thirty or so rooms that make up the Château de la Colle Noire reveal Christian Dior's taste for furniture sourced from antique dealers, skillfully combining objects from the 18th century, the Second Empire, and the Belle Époque.
Upstairs, the couturier's private apartment displays an accumulation of objects, from the bedroom to the office, where the landscape of the Fayence region stretches as far as the eye can see from the window, like an extension of the gardens, another treasure revived by Christian Dior.
The garden: the Dior legacy
At the heart of the 50 hectares surrounding the Château de la Colle Noire, Christian Dior expressed his passion for exceptional flowers through a completely redesigned garden, reminiscent of the one at his childhood home, reviving the roots of this residence in the Var hinterland, whose land was originally used to grow jasmine, vines, and May roses.
The couturier, who was also a perfumer, tirelessly planted acres of fragrant flowers, as well as olive groves and fruit trees, particularly almond trees, which were dear to Christian Dior's heart.
Among her favorite flowers that flood the green flowerbeds on the outskirts of the bastide in the Var hinterland are agapanthus, lily of the valley, violets, and above all, the rose of Grasse, the true muse of Dior perfumes.
His inspiring vision of cultivating these fragrant flowers for distillation is now a reality thanks to the efforts of the House of Dior and the contribution of local producers.
Château de la Colle Noire: its welcoming vocation
Like his contemporaries, Christian Dior was keen to welcome many friends and personalities who left their mark on their era, such as Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, and Pierre Bergé.
In the same vein, where refinement and grace combine with conviviality, the Château de la Colle Noire lends itself to flamboyant events such as luxurious weddings, exhibitions, and exceptional dinners reserved for a handful of celebrities and friends of the house, such as the one organized to celebrate the rebirth of this legendary place in the presence of Pierre Niney, Charlize Theron, and Bella Hadid.
Our historical villa dossier
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