In 1997, Celine Dion arrived at the Oscars unaware that she was about to make history. She was prepared to sing one song—her hit “Because You Loved Me”—at the ceremony, but wound up doing a last-minute double performance when the evening’s other act, Natalie Cole, called in sick. Wearing a plunging silver Chanel couture dress designed by Karl Lagerfeld, Dion became the first artist to perform two songs in one night at the Academy Awards. This week, for one of her final Paris residency shows of the fall, the superstar paid homage to that very moment.
During her concert at Plenitude Arena on Wednesday night, Dion donned a gown designed by Matthieu Blazy that reinterpreted her legendary look from nearly three decades ago. The couture dress, which took 1,380 hours of work, featured a corseted boustier with an exaggerated hourglass silhouette and a textured sweetheart neckline made of raffia.
Adorned in thousands of jewels and glass beads, the dress mimicked the original’s gradient color palette through intricate embroidery along the bodice. The result was an ode to Lagerfeld’s vision, with a twist of Blazy surrealism. Throughout his first year at the helm of Chanel, critics have noted that Blazy’s work often calls back to classic Chanel codes. This marks one of the first times he’s so directly referenced one of Lagerfeld’s designs.
For the ultimate finishing touch, Dion also wore a recreation of the high jewelry piece she wore to Academy Awards: the Comète necklace. Made of platinum, white gold, and 1,080 diamonds, the celestial-inspired necklace was a throwback to yet another part of Chanel history: the original design was from the 1932 “Bijoux de Diamants” collection, the only high jewelry collection designed by found Gabrielle Chanel herself.
Over the past few weeks in Paris, the Canadian singer has been wearing an assortment of custom and fresh-off-the-runway looks, both onstage and outside her hotel. But this is the first time she has referenced a past outfit, and it feels particularly sentimental.
The 58-year-old’s residency marks her first time taking on a full run of concert performances since being diagnosed with the rare autoimmune disorder stiff-person syndrome in 2022. Since kicking off in September, her shows have been a triumphant success filled with avant-garde ensembles. With just two shows left before she takes a months-long break, the callback to her one-of-a-kind legacy—in Chanel couture, no less—serves as the ultimate fashion finale.