All were huddled up in a leather trimmed Dior Homme cashmere overcoat to brave the biting below zero cold of London and me, along with the Kalyani Chawla, the Lady Dior of India, and some other esteemed guests, were whisked away to the members-only club, Soho House for a welcome lunch by Dior earlier today

Dior's boutique opening fiesta

The lunch was long, boozy and the room was packed to the gills by fellow Dior lovers, who had all been flown in from different corners of the globe for the two events that were designed and orchestrated by Dior's priced designer John Galliano and CEO Sidney Toledano.

After lunch, we were taken to the Somerset House on the Strand to witness an exquisite exhibition of the celebrated illustrator, the late Rene Gruau. Gruau's drawings and sketches for Dior are now the stuff of legend.

Gruau and Monsieur Dior met in 1936 and became friends instantly. When Christian Dior launched his career defining 'New Look' collection in 1947, he asked Rene Gruau to make all the haute couture illustrations. From then on, they spoke the same language and Gruau continued to create designs and illustrations for the house even after Dior's death with same sense of beauty, youth, delicacy and timelessness as before. The exhibition left every gasping.

In the evening, the new Dior's boutique,u00a0 had been transformed into the most happening party venue in the city. It was a star-studded cocktail party and fashionistas dressed in the latest couture offerings, swarmed the store with glasses of bubbly dangling from their slim, rock studded fingers. As the night unraveled, the guests were led to the lobby of Hotel Claridges for the presentation of the Dior christmas tree. The motif for the tree this year was marine life and unlike the traditional Christmas tree, the mistletoe and tinsel was replaced by octopus and eel made out of lucite and acrylic, making Christmas an altogether surreal experience.

The night finally ended with a spectacular sit down dinner in the dining room of the Claridges Hotel, hosted by Galliano and British supermodel Stella Tennant. The five- course meal was punctuated by the most delicious dessert, The Bombe a la Rose (The Rose Bomb), perhaps an apt synonym for a brand that makes your senses explode time and again with its unmitigated splendor. Can't wait for day two tomorrow!

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