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A display area of 3000 sq. m., 300 dresses and several hundreds of photos: these are the numbers of the exhibition Dior, couturier du rêve, celebrating the 70th anniversary of the French maison, the biggest fashion exhibition ever held in Paris.

The exhibition is in the Musée des Art Decoratifs, near the Louvre, and will be open until 8 January, 2018.

Why should you go? Because it can’t be missed, because it tells a story of success, because it’s intelligently curated and charmingly set up, following the same principles for the creation of a haute couture dress.

Dior Paris set up exhibition© Adrien Dirand

Dior Paris set up exhibition

Adrien Dirand

The setting up

The exhibition opens with the history of Dior, closely related to the story of its founder, Christian Dior. Curators Florence Müller and Olivier Gabet and set designer Nathalie Crinière take us to the gallery of young Christian, enlightening us about the relation between haute couture and art, and make us walk through the history of the maison through colour.  

The themed itinerary

The first part of the exhibition follows 4 themes: art as a source of inspiration, make-up and colour, the garden and perfumes and fame.

Dior Paris set up exhibitionAdrien Dirand

Dior Paris set up exhibitionDior Paris set up exhibitionDior Paris set up exhibitionDior Paris set up exhibition

The coloured room follows Dior’s story focusing on the importance of nuances in fashion, and presents a collection of models and accessories chosen and arranged according to colour.

Dior Paris set up exhibition

© Adrien Dirand

Dior Paris set up exhibition

© Adrien Dirand

Dior Paris set up exhibition

© Adrien Dirand

Dior Paris set up exhibitionDior Paris set up exhibition

The garden is surprising for its masterful creation: Spanish studio Wanda, that had already partnered with Dior for other installations, created a paper hanging garden covering the ceiling and coming down the walls creating the perfect framework for the floral dresses that made the French maison famous.

The chronological itinerary

Dior Paris set up exhibition© Adrien Dirand

Dior Paris set up exhibitionDior Paris set up exhibition Dior Paris set up exhibition

The second part of the itinerary, marked by black and white, tells us about Dior’s story in a chronological order, from Christian Dior to Maria Grazia Chiuri, the current artistic director, and it includes the likes of Yves Saint Laurent, Raf Simons, Marc Bohan, Gianfranco Ferré and John Galliano.

Dior Paris set up exhibition© Adrien Dirand

You go from white to black, and every emotion gets amplified by mirrors. The white is blinding, as are luxury and haute couture. In a white recess a Dior seamstress is decorating a dress by hand, giving a slow and fascinating performance that resembles a dance.

Dior Paris set up exhibition Adrien Dirand

Black is elegance, it’s history. In a long aisle you can admire a row of dresses, dating back to 1950, to 2017. It’s an itinerary that recounts the story of Dior, but also that of culture, of history, of the concept of woman. All of this within a structure made of led lights, almost futuristic in its appearance, that seems to encourage us to think about what’s beyond, about tomorrow.

Dior Paris set up exhibition© Adrien Dirand

The end

Finally, before leaving with our gaze set to the future we need to go back to the past, to the luxury of the great balls. Gold is coming down the ceiling in a huge room: the only room that’s neither white nor black. Here are the stars, the gold, the greatness: here is where we celebrate the 70th anniversary of this great maison. The tour is over. I hope I managed to persuade you to go to Paris and live all of this.

P.S. A display area of 3000 sq. m., 300 dresses and several hundreds of photos aren’t enough to create a modern, state-of-the-art exhibition. You also need two curators like Florence Müller and Olivier Gabet and a set designer like Nathalie Crinière, who are able to tell a story and to amaze at every step.