MAJOR PARIS EXHIBITION CELEBRATES 70 YEARS OF CHRISTIAN DIOR, COUTURIER DU RÊVE

“Christian Dior, Couturier du Rêve” (“Christian Dior, Dream Couturier” in English) will feature designs by the house’s founder and the six couturiers who succeeded him, spread over 3,000 square meters, or more than 32,000 square feet, with an elaborate set design by interior architect Nathalie Crinière. It is scheduled to open on July 5 during Paris Couture Week and run until Jan. 7, 2018.

This exhibition in addition showcases designs by Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Bohan, Gianfranco Ferré, John Galliano, Raf Simons and Maria Grazia Chiuri, including a dress from her very first couture collection for the house, shown last January.

Christian Dior, robe Opéra bouffe, haute couture automne-hiver 1956, ligne Aimant

The outfits on show range from a minimal gray smock dress in speckled wool, designed by Saint Laurent for Dior’s spring-summer 1958 haute couture collection, to a fiery orange kimono with elaborate embroideries inspired by the Ballets Russes, created by Galliano for the brand’s spring-summer 1998 couture show, famously staged at the Paris Opera.

Gianfranco Ferré pour Christian Dior, robe Palladio, haute couture printemps-été 1992, collection Au vent léger d’un été

The exhibition opens with the story of his life, and details how it informed his designs, which incorporated references to painting, sculpture, china and furnishing fabrics. Works of art are on loan from the Louvre museum, the Château de Versailles and the Pompidou Center, among others.

“Christian Dior was one of the people who lent objects to the exhibition, and the presence of his designs turned the inauguration into a fashionable and elegant cultural event,” the museum noted.