Dior exhibition

Hello my lovely readers! I hope you are doing well and had a wonderful Easter! How’s life treating you? After a long weekend last week (when I literally spent a day in bed because of sheer boredom), it was time to get into the routine again. And I don’t know about you, but the four-day work week definitely helped matters! Plus I had one of the best experiences in my life when I visited the V&A for the sold-out exhibition of “Dior: Designer of Dreams”! It was perfect to say the least! All the genius concentrated into an exhibition that carried a little bit of Parisian air and had me spellbound from the first minute!

First let me walk you through the experience of booking a ticket for this exhibition. When I booked my ticket, I did it for work and it was a work expense (yay me! Am I lucky or what?!) So, I booked my ticket in February and I can tell you I was already late, as all of February, March and until the end of April was already booked! The 22nd, which was the date I chose was the first available date in April that had some availability and by now I can see that everything’s solid booked until the 1st September! So, if you want to visit, I’d suggest you become a member. The membership fee is £79.00 a year and you can have unlimited access to all exhibition without needing to pay, which is a bargain in my opinion!

So, after booking my ticket I had to wait patiently for the day to come, so I could come visit the museum. It couldn’t come soon enough! And then finally it was time! Even if I had to leave earlier than planned from Reading in order to reach the V&A on time, it was well worth it! Held at the Sainsbury Gallery, the Dior exhibition was a feast for the eyes! His designs were displayed along with the work of his successors, from Yves Saint Laurent – who was only 21 years old when he had to succeed Christian Dior as head designer of the House Dior – to the current one, Maria Grazia Chiuri.

Dior had a fantastic business acumen, as he was the spokesperson of the entire French fashion industry and had connections with the British royalty as well. He organised a show at Blenheim palace and he designed Princess Margaret’s gown for her 21st birthday. This gown is now shown at a prominent place at the V&A, opposite her photo by Cecil Beaton. But, apart from his ties with the royalty, Dior was a sensitive man and always kept a low profile. His legacy though and his designs are what the world knows and celebrates as “Dior” and this cannot be denied. Everyone would like a glimpse of a Dior haute couture design, but there are only a lucky few that can say that, from Dame Margot Fonteyn and Marlene Dietrich to Marion Cotillard and Jennifer Lawrence.

In the exhibition, you can explore the looks he created and his lines, the “New Look” (which as a term was coined by Carmel Snow, the Harper’s Bazaar editor-in-chief), the A-line and the H-line. I really think that Christian Dior was fascinated by the alphabet letters, as both of these lines resemble these letters. Whenever Dior presented, a world sensation was created, and the placement of his bust and waist lines was hotly anticipated by the press at that time. You can see from quite close the Bar ensemble, which was a revelation to me, after I had read about it for so long. It feels so classy, even after all this time, and I would dearly love to wear it one day. Alas, this is not possible!

One of the rooms in the exhibition is dedicated to flowers, and we learn that Dior was always fascinated by gardens and was an avid gardener himself. His designs have floral inspirations from single flower decorations to floral prints and embroideries. It feels so nice when you walk in this room, which is so bright and full of flowers as a backdrop and floral gowns. We are informed that all designers after Dior tried to continue this legacy, either by inserting floral motifs and embroideries or by putting little flowery details here and there. I can honestly say that I loved all the gowns there!

After taking a look at signature looks from his successors’ collections, we move into the final room full of evening gowns and gowns worn by celebrities. This is the most extravagant room in my opinion and I absolutely loved it! You can see why so many ladies preferred – and still continue to do so – a Dior evening gown  above the rest and it’s because they make you feel something! Something precious and lavish and luxurious that is! And despite my aversion of her acting skills, I absolutely loved Jennifer Lawrence’s gown for the premiere of “Mother!”. It was fabulous.

After visiting the Dior exhibition, I found a new appreciation of the designer, not only because of his creative skills, but also because I discovered not well-known facts about him and his character. I hope that one day I can afford to have a bag or an article of clothing from Dior, but I’m not really holding my breath! For now though I have some things that can connect me to Maison Dior, if I can claim that connection! These are my two go-to perfumes, Miss Dior (actually named after his younger sister Catherine Dior) and Hypnotic Poison, which personally I adore! There’s also a makeup palette that I got at a Blogosphere festival I went to and a Dior lipstick that I wear constantly. I really hope that I will continue to grow my Dior collection in the future!

Till next time,

Sofia-Maria