Dior opens summer pop-up restaurant at Selfridges
The French fashion house is celebrating its Dioriviera capsule with an Italian-inspired terrace at Selfridge’s Alto restaurant
With your summer holiday choices narrowed down to either Porto or Portsmouth, this summer is set to be another with little in the way of crystal clear seas and golden hour sundowners. Unless, of course, you happen to be dining on Selfridges‘ fifth floor terrace – where a little slice of the Italian Riviera has found a home high among Oxford Circus.
Opening today (3 June), French fashion house Dior has teamed up with the iconic department store to celebrate the launch of its Dioriviera capsule collection with a pop-up store and take over of Alto, Selfridges’ hugely popular rooftop restaurant.
The Dior team has reimagined the elegant terrace in the house’s toile de Jouy – an ornately patterned fabric refreshed by creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri in blue, chartreuse and raspberry. Covering chairs and used as shade across the expansive pergola, as well as on flatware and in the bar, this signature pattern provides the perfect backdrop to a range of Dior Maison objects which can be found through the space, including parasols, deck chairs and cushions. Imagine the chicest Amalfi Coast eatery you can envision and you’ll be thinking along the right lines.
Of course, with Christian Dior famed for his love of cooking, the house’s influence does not stop merely at the decor. Alongside Alto’s classic menu of Italian specialities, a number of Dior-inspired dishes have been added to the menu, including some the house’s founder was known to favour at his own dinner parties.
Choose from lobster roll with Pachino tomatoes, beetroot carpaccio with rocket salad, Parmesan cheese and pistachios or tagliolini with Sicilian red prawns and caviar, all washed down with something delectable from the cocktail list renamed in honour of the collaboration. Will yours be the ‘J’Adior Selfridges’ or the ‘Lady Dior’?
Accompanying the restaurant takeover is a pop-up shop showcasing the Dioriviera collection. If you’ve been seduced by the pretty toile de Jouy fabric over lunch, you’ll find it continued across dresses, skirts, sandals and ready-to-wear while a number of Dior’s signature accessories, including the Saddle bag, Lady D-Lite, Book tote and Caro bag have been recreated in matching shades of acidic green, raspberry and navy.
Elsewhere a range of joyful summer lifestyle accessories, including a Dior emblazoned surfboard, beach games and fans, make for brilliant gifts. The star of the show, however, is undoubtedly a limited edition Christian Dior Vespa 946 scooter which has been designed in partnership with the famed Italian automotive company in shades of cream and black and comes complete with a matching helmet and top case.
And for that extra touch of dolce vita? The pop-up store will transform into a summer bar from 1 August – we’ll see you there for aperitivo hour.
Dior at Alto is open from 3 June – 20 September 2021, visit selfridges.com
Read more: The most hotly anticipated restaurants opening in London in 2021