Stepping Into Spring At The Dior Exhibit
Image courtesy of the V&A
Whilst waiting patiently for the spring borders to awaken and delicate cherry blossoms to shade London pavements, there is a heady dose of floral joy to be had over in South Kensington, thanks to the V&A.
Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams is the largest and most comprehensive Dior exhibit in UK history, and not since Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty have I been excited enough to pre-book a single ticket and head along, tea in hand, for opening time at the museum, on an otherwise dreary Monday morning.
“I designed clothes for flower-like women, with rounded shoulders, full feminine busts, and handspan waists above enormous spreading skirts”.
- Christian Dior
Based on the highly successful 2017 exhibition held at Paris’s Musée des Arts Décoratifs, the V&A’s show traces the history and impact of the House of Dior, from 1947 until the present day. The 11 rooms brim with dream-like creations, of richly pleated full skirts, the famed ‘new look’ tulip shape and ethereal ballgowns in soft layers.
As Dior aficionados would anticipate, flowers abound throughout the exhibition: From an individual silk rose adorning the ballgown of a post-war debutante - by Dior himself - to the cinched-in waists, tied with ‘gardener’s twine’ by Galliano, and the hand-dyed silk petals and trailing cherry blossoms and diving birds of the House’s current artistic director, Maria Grazia Chiuri.
Raf Simons for Dior
The cabinets of artefacts are as interesting as the clothes themselves, detailing the plant catalogues Dior loved to read as a child, and describing the fields of jasmine and vines he later cultivated at his last home.
Often seen wearing his favourite flower, lily of the valley, in his buttonhole, Dior apparently insisted his seamstresses sew dried sprigs of into the hems of every one of his couture models’ outfits, for good luck.
‘After women, flowers are the most divine of creations.’ - Christian Dior
Raf Simons, creative director of Dior from 2012 - 2015, drew upon these base notes of the House, with the iconic ‘pointillist’ dress - as worn by Natalie Portman in the Miss Dior fragrance advert. Here the dress is set amongst a delicate hanging garden - a blizzard of paper flowers that overflow from the museum’s ceiling, designed and installed by Wanda Barcelona.
Image courtesy of the V&A
Fellow soggy visitors will be immediately cheered by the exquisitely-presented {and warm} series of rooms, with their clever ‘early-morning’ light and pretend windows overlooking the Tuileries. There is also a charming addition, especially for London visitors, in the opening section which highlights the designer’s fascination with all-things British.
First the first time I saw this Normandy-born couturier - most-often associated with Paris - as an enthusiastic anglophile, with a love of english country houses, formal english gardens, the British aristocracy and who favoured Savile Row tailoring.
As well as finding inspiration on our humble isles, Dior used British textiles in his London collections, collaborating with manufacturers such as Dents gloves and heritage woollen mill Lyle & Scott - who made sweaters for the House in 1955.
When hosting charity shows in Scotland, at the Central Hotel in Glasgow and Gleneagles, Dior showed included pieces with names such as the ‘Dundee’, ‘Glasgow’ and ‘Edinburgh’, and was said to be charmed by the Scottish nobility and their kilts.
‘There is no other country in the world, beside my own, whose way of life I like so much.’‘I dote on Yorkshire pudding, mince pies, stuffed chicken, and, above all, I worship the breakfast of tea, porridge, eggs and bacon.’
- Christian Dior
In the accompanying catalogue, Exhibition Curator Oriole Cullen writes of the House’s celebrated British clients: Paris-dwelling Nancy Mitford, who ordered the Daisy suit from his first collection and wore it when having her portrait painted - as well as ballet dancer Margot Fonteyn and Princess Margaret.
Unlike her mother and sister who patriotically wore British designers, Princess Margaret chose to wear a Dior ballgown for her 21st birthday celebrations, which is on display alongside the official royal portrait of her wearing it, captured by Cecil Beaton.
Image courtesy of the V&A
A bespoke scarf created for Princess Margaret by Dior
All the spring florals….
‘Evening clothes are the most glamorous and fascinating thing a woman can have. As the evening is the time when you escape from the realities of life.’
- Christian Dior
Galliano’s ‘twine’ alongside some moody florals
Image courtesy of the V&A
Image courtesy of the V&A
‘I adore the english, dressed not only in their tweeds which suit them so well, but also in those flowing dresses in subtle colours.’
- Christian Dior
Image courtesy of the V&A
Designer of Dreams is another superbly curated fashion blockbuster from the V&A, that I will definitely be returning to just as soon as I can. What better than glistening brocade and wisps of silk florals to see you through the cold evenings?
To book tickets for Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams visit or to order the book of the exhibition click here.
