“I think of my work as ephemeral architecture, dedicated to the beauty of the female body,” Christian Dior said in an interview just before his sudden death in 1957. Visitors flocking to the V&A’s sold-out Designer of Dreams exhibition on the couturier’s work and impact can only agree.
This is, simply, a stunning show, exquisitely curated and created – like each Dior garment on view – across light and dark rooms filled with key outfits from Dior himself and the creative directors who followed in his footsteps: Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Bohan, Gianfranco Ferré, John Galliano, Raf Simons and, currently, Maria Grazia Chiuri. There are vitrines filled with original photographs, drawings, fabric samples and memories. There are films, texts, light shows and scents. But as always with the House of Dior it’s the costumes that stand out.
In particular, those that made the designer’s name: the New Look collection, of which the Bar suit, was a huge hit. All hourglass outlines perfectly tailored with discreet padding that’s all about curves and confidence, the New Look for the late 1940s was a reaction to wartime austerity – revolutionary because it was feminine in opposition to the boxy, masculine style of women’s fashion that had been so prominent during the war. Regarding the two standout silhouettes in the show, the Corolle and En 8, it is impossible not to appreciate the full skirts echoing the petals of flowers in the former, and the hip-hugging pencil skirts of the latter.
The Bar suit, seen here in its first incarnation from Dior, then in reinterpretations from the successive creative directors, is timeless and breathtaking. Dior’s vision of an exquisitely sculptured jacket coupled with a richly pleated, full skirt, inspired by the bar at the Hôtel Plaza Athénée, continues to influence today.
What comes out so well as you stroll through Designer of Dreams is how Dior’s designs, anchored in the curves of the female figure, play with structure and proportion to create clothes that powerfully express an attitude. The careful construction and workmanship, and a consideration of the effect of movement, are key to the success of even the most ethereal garment on display.
The House of Dior has dressed everyone from Princess Margaret to Jennifer Lawrence, Margot Fonteyn to Rihanna – the dresses are here, some behind glass for reasons of preservation, others glittering on platforms under bright lights you want to reach out and touch, reflect the continuing influence of Christian’s beloved Belle Époque Paris and the lavish style of court dress worn at Versailles in the 18th century.
The alchemy of fairy-tale dresses in the exhibition (there are over 200 pieces to witness) – the technical mastery of each of Dior’s creative directors alongside the cultural legacy and A-list glitz – is what is so alluring about Designer of Dreams. Every corner you turn, each room you enter, one with a paper garden ceiling of faux flowers by artist Wanda Barcelona, another with a display of workshop cuts, still more with a glittering golden show of ball gowns, elicits intermittent gasps of amazement and hushed awe from onlookers.
Apart from one room where the YSL, Bohan, Ferré, Galliano, Simons and Chiuri’s creations are separately displayed, outfits are mostly displayed together allowing an ability to compare and contrast. The kitsch and extravagance of Galliano’s Egyptian-themed costumes alongside Bohan’s heavily embellished golden version stands out. As do gowns worn by Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman and Natalie Portman, and various debutantes and duchesses over the ages.
Indeed travel is a clear theme. Dior himself would often take inspiration from different countries, architecture, art, landscapes and textiles and each of the House’s creative directors has done the same – the countries most prominent being Mexico, Japan, Egypt, China and India. One exquisite high-necked kimono style dress, flowing around a mannequin’s curves, in deep scarlet with flower motifs is a fine example, though a slight feeling of cultural appropriation lingers.
“After women, flowers are the most divine of creations,” Dior once said and indeed rose and flower motifs, abundant prints and intricate embroideries show his passion for plant life and gardens everywhere – Chiuri’s reference to this, the Jardin Fleuri dress from the 2017 collection is a showstopper, its petal-like decoration using layers of cut and dyed feathers to imitate flowers scattered across the bodice and skirt.
While ‘Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams’ is not perfect – some of the later designers might feel overblown on occasion – Dior’s personal contributions, the clarity of his silhouettes, his precision and control, are manifestly special, while the addition of rooms featuring displays of over one hundred magazine covers featuring Dior through the years and photographs and illustrations from renowned artist interpreting and reinterpreting the house’s work add a wider context. Then there are the creations of current creative director and the only woman to oversee Dior, Chiuri, which come out particularly well. Her version of the Bar look in particular is contemporary and poised with a #MeToo twist adding a T-shirt that reads ‘We Should All Be Feminists’ and a more elongated dress.
Throughout this exhibition you understand why Dior has had such an influence on not just fashion but contemporary culture through the 20th century and beyond, and perhaps that is what makes the show so good. The last word, inevitably, should go to Dior himself however, in 1947 when he burst on the scene with such impact, and perhaps indicates why the who’s who of the day fell so deeply for his work. They knew Dior understood when he said: “In all the world today, haute couture is one of the last repositories of the marvellous.”
Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams, is at the V&A London SW7 until September.
