Christian Dior–Designer of Dreams: ChichiChic Top 10 Highlights

The absolutely spectacular exhibition, Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams captures the groundbreaking history and awe-inspiring legacy of luxury fashion powerhouse, House of Dior. The exhibition shares the secrets of the different sources of inspiration Monsieur Dior drew from and it displays numerous beautiful objects straight from the Parisian fashion house’s archives: from hundreds of rare haute couture garments to fashion accessories to sketches by Monsieur Dior himself, archival photographs, and videos.

I had the privilege of seeing this breathtaking exhibition in December 2021 at the Brooklyn Museum. This was a magnificent retrospective conceived for the House’s 70^th anniversary—it was also presented in London (Victoria and Albert Museum) and Shanghai (the Long Museum Wet Bund) prior to New York. Following the success of the exhibition presented at the Musée des Arts Decoratifs in Paris, the Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams exhibit is currently in Tokyo, Japan at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (December 21, 2022 to May 28, 2023).

So, here they are, the top 10 highlights of my visit to the exhibition, Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams at the Brooklyn Museum, New York.

1. Dior’s Relationship with America:

   Dior launched in Paris in February 1947 after German occupation and the 2^nd World War. The collection named “Corolle” was dubbed “the New Look” by Harper’s Bazaar; the New Look was a dazzling success and it made Dior the king of Parisian glamour. Later in 1947, legendary retailer, Stanley Marcus (of Neiman Marcus), invited Dior to Dallas to accept an award—he got to travel all around the US. The exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum showcased photographs of the launch of Dior’s first flagship outside of Paris in New York city as well as pieces from Christian Dior’s New York collections shown side by side with some of the Paris collection originals. The American clothes were luxury ready-to-wear not haute couture—they were designed for the American Lifestyles that were faster-paced, as well as for glamorous, Hollywood-style evenings.

   

2. The Toile Room:

   A jaw-dropping tribute to the Ateliers that showcases the brilliance and excellence of Dior’s petites-mains (Petites-Mains are the most skilled seamstresses of Parisian fashion couture). The Toile Room displays the humble but stunning beginnings of all the beautiful haute couture gowns. The fabrics for haute couture gowns (and even luxury fashion ready-to-wear pieces) are often so expensive that the beginning of a piece is made in cotton. Cotton is easy to write on—the designer can pin it, cut it, draw and write on it, and then hand it over to the seamstresses to bring it to life in the actual fabric.

   

The Toile Room is a magnificent display of all the brilliant ideas of Christian Dior and all the other creative directors that followed him. Vogue Magazine described it as “a wall of ghostly white toiles, reinforcing the power of craft and the hand in the house’s haute couture.”

3. The Creative Directors:

   Galleries displaying the creations of the House’s artistic directors who succeeded Dior after his untimely death in 1957 take you through a wonderful journey of Dior’s dazzling legacy: Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Bohan, Gianfranco Ferré, John Galliano, Raf Simons and Maria Grazia Chiuri.

   

   Yves Saint Laurent

   

   Marc Bohan

   

   Gianfranco Ferré

   

   John Galliano

   

   

   Raf Simons

4. Maria Grazia Chiuri:

   Dior’s current Creative Director, the first woman to hold the position, is so innovative and talented—she has ushered in a bold new vision for the house and challenged patriarchy. The exhibition truly showcases Chiuri’s groundbreaking initiatives to champion women creatives all around the world.

   

   Maria Grazia Chiuri

   

   Maria Grazia Chiuri x Judy Chicago

5. Dior’s Master Photographers:

   One gallery of the exhibit beautifully and stunningly displays all the works of various photographers associated with the house like Annie Leibovitz, Henry Clark, Lillian Bassman, Irving Penn, David Lachappelle, etc.

The center piece is the iconic dress from Richard Avedon’s Dovima with Elephants which originally appeared in a 14-page story on Paris fashions in the September 1955 issue of Harper’s Bazaar where Avedon was staff photographer from 1946 to 1965.

Photo Credit: Paul Vu (Vogue)

6. The “Miss Dior” Dress:

   The floral dress that Natalie Portman wore in the Miss Dior eau de parfum summer of 2021 commercial is, simply put, an absolute showstopper. Designed by Maria Grazia Chiuri, the gorgeous, pleated silk gown (which took 500 hours to make!!!) is embroidered with “Millefiori” flowers — which are all hand-painted, printed, and embroidered.

   “These unusual wildflowers drawings are at crossroads between classical influences and an extremely contemporary approach,” Dior said in a press release. “Incisive lines which express a free-wheeling encounter between Dior hyper-femininity and confident, triumphant modernity.”

Photo Credit: Dior

8. Dior Colorama:

   This gallery presents the palette of colors of the House of Dior represented in gowns, accessories, beauty, hats, handbags, jewelry, perfume, and shoes from 1947 to 2021, along with miniature size versions of original gowns and coats produced by the haute couture ateliers.

   

   Photo Credit: Brooklyn Museum

   

9. Dior Fantasy Land:

   The central atrium of the Brooklyn Museum’s Beaux-Arts Court was redesigned as an enchanted garden with a sky constellated by bright stars—a nod to Christian Dior’s lucky star. On April 18, 1946, Dior was walking the streets of Paris, uncertain about his future in couture, when he tripped and fell at a pedestrian crossing. He saw one of the cast-iron stars that marked out the crossing—it had come loose and was sticking out. Dior took this as a sign to follow Marcel Boussac’s (the cotton king of France) suggestion to open his own couture house. The Dior star is a brand symbol till this day.

The enchanted garden is a wide-open gallery with floating dresses and truly breathtaking evening and formal looks, some very ethereal while others bold and femininely powerful.

9. Designer of Dreams:

   The final gallery celebrates dresses worn by Hollywood stars from Grace Kelly to Yara Shahidi to Jennifer Seeing the beautiful details and spectacular construction of these fabled gowns worn by various Oscar nominees and the like so up close took my breath away. Dior is indeed the Designer of Dreams.

Nicole Kidman and Yara Shahidi

Jennifer Lawrence

Elizabeth Taylor

Photo Credit: Paul Vu

10. Ode to Dior:

    I put together one of my most favorite looks EVER (so far—hee hee), combining various Dior pieces, to wear to the Dior exhibit. This look made my inner Dior fangirl so proud. I even got stopped many times by other attendees who thought I was either affiliated with Dior or had a hand in putting the exhibition together (YASSSSSSS!!!!)

Not every house can have an exhibition like this–the house of Christian Dior is a giant among luxury fashion houses. The depth and breath of Dior’s legacy is truly breathtaking. There is so much to explore in Dior’s history, so much to appreciate of the house presently and so much to look forward to in its future.

I am so glad I got to witness this spectacular piece of history: The Legacy of Christian Dior. Please share your thoughts about this Dior exhibit in the comment section below.

Love,

Chichi