Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams
Supported by Swarovski
The Sainsbury Gallery
2 February – 14 July 2019 vam.ac.uk | #DiorDesignerofDreams
Couture gowns worn by Princess Margaret, Margot Fonteyn and Jennifer Lawrence to go on display at the V&A for largest ever Christian Dior exhibition in the UK.
In February 2019, the V&A opens the largest and most comprehensive exhibition ever staged in the UK on the House of Dior – the museum’s biggest fashion exhibition since Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty in 2015. From 1947 to the present day, Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams traces the history and impact of one of the 20th century’s most influential couturiers, and the six artistic directors who have succeeded him, to explore the enduring influence of the fashion house.
Based on the major exhibition Christian Dior: Couturier du Rêve, organised by the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, the exhibition is reimagined for the V&A. A brand-new section explores, for the first time, the designer’s fascination with British culture. Dior admired the grandeur of the great houses and gardens of Britain, as well as British-designed ocean liners, including the Queen Mary. He also had a preference for Savile Row suits. His first UK fashion show took place at London’s Savoy Hotel, and in 1952 he established Christian Dior London.
The exhibition investigates Dior’s creative collaborations with British manufacturers, including Dents (gloves), Rayne (shoes) Lyle & Scott (knitwear) and Mitchel Maer (costume jewellery). It also focuses on his most notable early British clients, from author Nancy Mitford to ballet dancer Margot Fonteyn. A highlight will be the Christian Dior dress worn by Princess Margaret for her 21st birthday celebrations, generously on loan from the Museum of London following conservation work. The exhibition also brings to life Dior’s spectacular fashion shows staged in the UK’s most luxurious stately homes, including Blenheim Palace in 1954, of which several ensembles are now in the V&A’s collection.
Drawn from the extensive Dior Archives, the exhibition presents over 500 objects, with over 200 rare Haute Couture garments shown alongside accessories, fashion photography, film, vintage perfume, original make-up, illustrations, magazines, and Christian Dior’s personal possessions. It also showcases highlights from the V&A’s world-class Couture collections, including the iconic Bar Suit, gifted to the museum by the House of Dior in 1960 with the help of Cecil Beaton.
The exhibition highlights Dior’s total design vision, encompassing garments, accessories and fragrances. Flowers are emblematic of the Couture House and have inspired silhouettes, embroidery and prints, but also the launch of Miss Dior in 1947, the first fragrance created alongside the very first show.
From horticulture to global travel and 18th-century decorative arts, the show reveals the sources of inspiration that defined the House of Dior’s aesthetic. From the daring designs of Yves Saint Laurent to the rational style of Marc Bohan, the flamboyance of Gianfranco Ferré, the exuberance of John Galliano, the minimalism of Raf Simons, and Maria Grazia Chiuri’s feminist vision of fashion, the exhibition shows how each successive artistic director has stayed true to Dior’s vision of Haute Couture, while bringing their own creative sensibilities to the House.
Oriole Cullen, Fashion and Textiles Curator at the V&A, said: “In 1947, Christian Dior changed the face of fashion with his New Look, which redefined the female silhouette and reinvigorated the post-War Parisian fashion industry. The V&A recognised Dior’s important contribution to design history early-on in his career, acquiring his sketches and garments from the 1950s onwards. The influence of Christian Dior’s design was all-pervasive and helped to define an era. In their own individual ways, each of the House’s successive artistic directors have referenced and reinterpreted Dior’s own designs and continued the legacy of the founder, ensuring that the House of Christian Dior is at the forefront of fashion today. More than seventy years after its founding, the V&A’s exhibition celebrates the enduring influence of the House of Dior and reveals Dior’s relationship with Britain.”
Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams brings to the V&A an in-depth and wide-ranging study of the unique Haute Couture garments since 1947. Across 11 sections, the exhibition showcases the exquisite skill and craftsmanship of the ateliers and successive designers from the House of Dior:
- Christian Dior offers an extended biography on Christian Dior (1905–57), from family life to his early career as a gallery owner and the founding of the House of Dior in 1946. It encompasses Dior’s extensive travel, the global success of his couture house and the development of Dior perfumes.
- The New Look focuses on Dior’s famed Bar Suit from his ground-breaking first collection in 1947 and considers how subsequent Dior designers have reinterpreted it over the years.
- The Dior Line showcases ten defining looks made between 1947 and 1957, Christian Dior’s own tenure at the House.
- Dior in Britain uncovers Christian Dior’s personal love of England and his British client’s reciprocal love for his fashion. Focusing mostly on Dior’s lifetime, it highlights early Dior fashion shows staged in country houses and grand hotels around Britain, the Dior London company and British clients.
- Historicism examines the influence of historic dress and decorative arts in the House of Dior’s designs from 1947 to today, encompassing Dior’s love of the 18th century, and the Belle Époque fashions worn by his mother, Madeleine Dior.
- Travels explores how travel and different countries and cultures have consistently inspired the various designers at the House of Dior.
- The Garden highlights the importance of flowers and gardens as a source of inspiration to the House, from garments to perfume.
- Designers for Dior spotlights the work of the subsequent six key artistic directors since Christian Dior’s death in 1957.
- The Ateliers showcases toiles from the Dior Ateliers in a stunning ‘cabinet of curiosity’ style installation.
- Diorama examines the breadth of the House of Dior, from accessories including costume jewellery, hats, shoes and bags, to illustrations, miniature dresses and archive lipstick and perfume, bottles, collected in a kaleidoscopic display.
- The Ballroom celebrates the fantasy of the Ball, evoking the lavish interiors of the great houses of Britain. Showcasing 70 years of stunning formal evening wear, this section reveals the incredible skill of the Haute Couture ateliers
克裏斯丁·迪奧：夢之設計師
瑪格麗特公主、瑪格特·芳婷、詹妮佛·勞倫斯曾穿戴過的高定禮服將於維多利亞阿爾伯特博物館所舉辦的英國史上最大規模克裏斯丁·迪奧展中展出。
2019年二月，維多利亞阿爾伯特博物館將舉辦英國有史以來規模最大的迪奧時裝屋展覽，也是它自2015年舉辦亞歷山大·麥昆展後規模最大的時裝類展覽。克裏斯丁·迪奧：夢之設計師——通過著重展示二十世紀最偉大的高級定制禮服設計師之壹迪奧先生和他之後六位繼任者的歷史，以及他們為今日時裝所帶來的影響。
此次展覽基於巴黎裝飾藝術博物館所舉辦展覽：Christian Dior: Couturier du Reve為藍本，在此基礎上加入前所未有的全新視角，如迪奧對英國文化的贊揚和迷戀。迪奧生前鐘情於英式建築與花園，以及如瑪麗皇後號的英式遠洋客輪。此外，他還對薩維爾式西服情有獨鐘。1952年他設立了倫敦迪奧時裝屋，並於倫敦沙威酒店舉辦了第壹場在英國的時裝秀。
來自迪奧檔案庫中的超過五百件物品參與展覽；其中二百余件為迪奧高級定制禮服，同時展出的還有飾品、時尚攝影作品、電影、股東古董香水、初版化妝品、插畫、雜誌、和克裏斯丁·迪奧的私人收藏等。還包括了來自維多利亞阿爾伯特博物館的館內世界級的高定服飾收藏，如標誌性的迪奧束腰禮服，這是在1960年在Cecil Beaton的幫助下，由迪奧時裝屋贈與博物館的壹件禮物。
從園藝，到環球旅行，再到十八世紀流行的裝飾藝術，本次展覽展示了影響迪奧時裝屋的所有美學因素。聖羅蘭的大膽設計、馬克·博昂的理性優雅、瑪麗亞·基烏裏的女權主義視角、約翰·加利亞諾的熱情洋溢，設計師們為時裝屋帶來不同風格影響的同時，也由衷地貼近著不變的迪奧美學。
克裏斯丁·迪奧：夢之設計師堤供咱1947年後具有深度和廣度的時裝屋研究。展攬包含11個部汾，展示了迪奧時裝屋精美絕圇的工藝水坪和設計巧思：克裏斯丁·迪奧、新形橡、迪奧線、迪奧茬英國、嚦史主義、旅行、花園、迪奧的設計師們、工做室、造景、宴澮。
