Liu Yifei, the Chinese actress and singer also known as Crystal Liu, sat in Dior’s front row on Monday, making her first appearance at Paris Couture Week.
The Dior Prestige skin-care ambassador was among a crowd that included Olga Kurylenko, Bianca Jagger, Erin O’Connor, Cressida Bonas, Marisa Berenson, Aymeline Valade and Noomi Rapace, at the show held in a tent in the garden of the Rodin Museum.
“I love haute couture, for sure, if I have a chance to wear it for a premiere or something like that. But normally I like more simple stuff — more powerful and cool,” said Liu, wearing a pinstriped trouser suit over a futuristic white leather vest.
The actress, who has more than 44 million followers on Weibo, will be seen next in “Night Peacock,” a Franco-Chinese romance directed by Dai Sijie.
“I don’t like to distinguish between commercial films and art house films, but this one is a very subtle story. It’s not as extreme, but it’s dramatic. It’s about a girl who falls in love with two guys in a different period of time, and her choices,” Liu said.
Kurylenko was preparing to return to work after welcoming a son in October with her partner Max Benitz. “It’s my first, so I’m so delighted. It’s such a fun and great ride,” she said.
The Ukrainian-born former model is currently on screens in Italy in Giuseppe Tornatore’s “Correspondence,” though she lamented not seeing much of costar Jeremy Irons, since most of their on-screen relationship is conducted via Skype, letters, e-mails and text messages. “We communicate throughout the whole film, but on set — physically — we actually didn’t spend that much time,” she explained.
Erin O’Connor was also back from maternity leave, recently shooting a cover for Italian Vogue with photographer Tim Walker.
“There’s always a fantasy involved and a direct inspiration from a bygone era, and on this occasion a stallion, so it was satisfyingly difficult, as all of Tim’s shoots. It’s never dull and always, always promises to be epic,” she added.
The model said she was feeling more serene about work after taking a break. “As you get older, you learn to enjoy everything so much more. There’s less intensity. I feel far less cryptic since I’ve become a mother and I see it for what it should be, which is a pleasurable experience with lots of like-minded people,” she remarked.