Dior wanted its latest holiday film to celebrate the value of human craftsmanship. Instead, it found itself at the center of a debate about artificial intelligence and what it really means for something to be made by hand.
Titled Christian Dior’s Night in Color, the animated short follows Christian Dior through a fictional Christmas Eve in 1949, as he creates a dress for actress Marlene Dietrich. Directed by French animator Sylvain Chomet, the film features voices including Robert Pattinson, Rihanna and Josh O’Connor. Dior presented it as a traditional, hand-drawn production, emphasizing the months of work and artistic precision behind its creation.
But viewers began questioning the process after spotting unusual details, including distorted lettering, inconsistent character features and a hand that appeared to have six fingers. The images quickly circulated online, with critics suggesting that generative AI had been used to produce parts of the animation.
The filmmakers have since pushed back. In an interview with Variety, Chomet and producer Aton Soumache denied using generative AI to create the artwork. They said the seven-month production involved approximately 20 creatives, including six animators, who drew the characters, backgrounds and key poses. However, Soumache acknowledged using an automated interpolation system for a small part of the process, generating some of the frames between the artists' original drawings.
That distinction matters. Automated interpolation is not necessarily generative AI, and the filmmakers have not identified the software used or explained exactly how much of the film it affected. The controversy therefore remains less conclusive than social media initially suggested.
But the bigger issue is transparency. Dior has built its identity around craftsmanship, from the construction of its couture garments to the presentation of its creative heritage. When a campaign explicitly celebrates traditional artistic techniques, audiences are entitled to understand how those techniques were actually used.
Technology is not inherently incompatible with luxury. The question is whether brands are willing to be honest about the role it plays. In an industry where human skill is part of what customers are paying for, craftsmanship cannot simply be a marketing message. It has to be something brands can demonstrate.