Want to be like Grace Kelly? Actress’ granddaughter-in-law Beatrice Borromeo stars in Dior campaign

Beatrice Borromeo is following in her late grandmother-in-law’s fashion footsteps as she stars in a new campaign for Dior.

Princess Grace of Monaco – who died in a car accident in 1982 at the age of 52 –  was a lifelong fan of the French fashion house.

The Rear Window actress wore their designs during both her acting career and after she relocated to Europe following her wedding to Prince Rainier III in 1956. 

Now Beatrice Borromeo – who is married to the Old Hollywood actress’ grandson Pierre Casiraghi – has appeared in a new photoshoot to promote the brand’s £6,000 Lady 95.22 bag.

To create an Old Hollywood feel, the brand photographed the aristocrat, 37, from San Candido, Italy, in a black-and-white and dressed her in a simple roll-neck jumper.

Beatrice Borromeo, 37, is married to Grace Kelly’s grandson Pierre Casiraghi, who is also a Dior ambassador. Her new Lady Dior bag campaign had Old Hollywood feel and was shot in black-and-white

Seemingly inspired by Grace Kelly’s sophisticated minimalism, the stylist paired the mother-of-two’s thin knit with a black silk skirt and strappy heels.

Allowing the iconic bag to take centre stage, a pensive Beatrice was pictured starring off into the distance with the designer accessory dangling off her arm.

In another shot, Beatrice – who is the daughter of Italian aristocrat Don Carlo Ferdinando and previously worked as a political journalist – stares directly at the camera as the Dior bag balances on her forearm.

The bag is a new take on the classic Lady Dior bag, which was first released in 1995 and was one of Princess Diana’s favourites.

Describing the bag as ‘very very elegant’, Princess Caroline’s daughter-in-law said of the redesign: ‘It’s also fine to just go out for dinner without feeling overdressed or exaggerated. It’s very versatile as a bag.’

The mother-of-two – who married Grace Kelly’s grandson in 2015 – has been an ambassador for the brand since 2021.

Last month, Beatrice attended the French brand’s Spring Summer Haute Couture show during Paris Fashion Week.

For the occasion, the European royal was dressed in head-to-toe Dior – wearing the brand’s 1930-sinpired woven cape with matching knee-high boots and a black netted hat. 

Allowing the iconic bag to take centre stage, a pensive Beatrice was pictured starring off into the distance with the designer accessory dangling off her arm

Beatrice – who is the daughter of Italian aristocrat Don Carlo Ferdinando – stares directly at the camera as the Dior bag balances on her forearm

Grace Kelly pictured in a Dior dress at the 1954 premiere of her movie Rear Window. Following her death, fashion historians found that one third of her wardrobe was by Dior

In October 2021, Beatrice’s husband Pierre Casiraghi, 35, was named an ambassador for Dior.

The brand said at the time: ‘An icon of elegance, Pierre Casiraghi becomes Dior’s ambassador. The Monegasque businessman embodies the new facet of tailoring constantly reinvented by Kim Jones [creative of Dior’s men’s line], a timeless modernity. 

In August 2021, she was awarded the title of most stylish European royal by society bible Tatler.

Describing why she had won the title, the publication wrote: ‘[She] ‘cuts an elegant figure everywhere she goes – whether it’s a red carpet, a royal appearance or simply yacht-hopping – with her equally chic sister-in-law Charlotte Casiraghi making for the perfect fashion partner-in-crime’.

See also  Kate Beckinsale remarks on lookalike daughter Lily Sheen and jokes she's a 'better version'

Beatrice Borromeo and Pierre Casiraghi are both ambassadors for Dior. The couple – who married in 2015 – pictured at the Dior Haute Couture show last month

For the brand’s Paris Fashion Week show last month, Beatrice dressed in head-to-toe Dior – wearing the brand’s 1930-sinpired woven cape with matching knee-high boots and a black netted hat

Over the course of her 50 years in the public eye, Grace Kelly was pictured wearing dozens of couture Christian Dior dresses – including an iconic black-and-white frock she wore to the 1954 premiere of Rear Window.

In 2019, the French fashion house put the late actress’ wardrobe on display the Christian Dior museum in Granville, France, to celebrate what would have been her 90th birthday.

The late American actress – best known for the Alfred Hitchcock classics To Catch A Thief, Rear Window and Dial M For Murder – had a deep relationship with the French fashion house throughout her illustrious career. 

Fashion historian Florence Müller, who is responsible for the much-anticipated exhibition, was given the opportunity to access to the palace’s archives.

Grace Kelly’s wardrobe went on display at the Christian Dior museum in France in 2019 to mark what would have been her 90th birthday. This dress, which she wore alongside Prince Rainier III of Monaco at their engagement party at the Waldorf-Astoria in NYC in 1956, was in the collection

And she subsequently found that one third of Kelly’s total pieces were from Dior.

Speaking to WWD, Müller said: ‘Bohan perfectly understood her role: she needed to be stylish, but respectful of etiquette.

‘Before Grace of Monaco, royalty remained a private affair. Princesses weren’t seen in public as much, or photographed by the press. She represents a moment of change of etiquette, a real rupture.

The actress wore the designer’s creations throughout her legendary career as an actress and also when she became the Princess of Monaco, after marrying Prince Rainier III of Monaco in 1956.

That includes the gown she donned to her engagement ball held in New York’s Waldorf-Astoria and the couture autumn/winter 1956 look she chose for her first official portrait as Princess Grace of Monaco.