Inside The Latest Christian Dior: Designer Of Dreams Exhibition
Japan is the latest pitstop for this epic retrospective that charts all 75 years of the brand’s rich, romantic history.
The Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams exhibition makes its way to Tokyo for the seventh stop on its ongoing global tour. First staged at the Musée des Arts décoratifs in Paris in 2017 to commemorate the brand’s 70th anniversary, the exhibition has since travelled to the Brooklyn Museum in New York and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, as well as Shanghai, Chengdu and Doha. Like those previous shows, this latest iteration at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Tokyo serves as a dazzling, comprehensive retrospective of Christian Dior’s oeuvre and those of his successors. However, this new edition also delves into the rich history between the House and Japan—one that started in 1953 when Dior became the first French couturier to stage a fashion show in the country, and was further strengthened by the designer’s partnerships with Daimaru, the department store, and Kanebo, the manufacturer.
Nods to Japan abound in the exhibition—both in the pieces on show and in the scenography designed by Shohei Shigematsu of OMA—most overtly in the Dior in Japan room, a new addition to Designer of Dreams that highlights the many ways the country has influenced and informed the House and its Artistic Directors through the decades. Inspired by traditional Japanese lanterns, the space itself is composed of undulating curves covered in textured, translucent paper. Inside, pieces from the vast Dior archive spanning the House’s many chapters are displayed—John Galliano’s romantic, theatrical riffs on the kimono and Hokusai prints; a trio of dresses intricately embroidered with cherry blossoms from Maria Grazia Chiuri’s debut couture collection for the brand; Raf Simons’ subtle, modernist takes on traditional Japanese garments. There are also archival documents, photographs and sketches (many from private collections and never before seen) that show just how deep the bonds were between Dior the man and one of his favourite countries.
Related article: Heart Evangelista, Chau Bui Celebrate The Launch Of Dior Beauty’s Atelier Of Dreams
The exhibition spans 12 rooms in total, with over 350 looks—many of which are being exhibited for the first time ever. One of the most spectacular of these rooms (in an exhibition that is already huge on spectacle) houses the Dior Ball, a soaring two-storey platform built on a slope—mirror-backed to heighten the sense of drama—onto which lights, stars, liquid and skies are projected. On the platform, dozens of the most dreamlike, fantastical gowns and dresses concocted by the Artistic Directors through the years. Hanging nearby is a series of evocative photographs by Yuriko Takagi that captures the grace and femininity of every garment that bears the Dior label. Another standout is Miss Dior’s Garden, dedicated to the House’s myriad floral fantasies. Christian Dior was a famously avid gardener, and many of his collections, silhouettes, prints and colours were inspired by flowers. His successors have similarly found a wealth of inspiration in the garden. Here, their creations are showcased alongside a lush suspended garden of papercut flowers and foliage by the artist, Ayumi Shibata.
Related article: Sehun, Lewis Hamilton Grace Dior Men’s Pre-Fall 2023 Show In Cairo
Photo: Dior/Daici Ano25
DIOR Designer of Dreams - Tokyo, Japan
Other highlights include a room commemorating the Bar jacket and the unshakeable place of the New Look in fashion history—it also serves as a showcase of how each successive Artistic Director has left their imprint on that weighty legacy; Dior Around the World traces the global influences that have shaped the House’s output; the all-white toile room, stacked to the ceiling with prototypes from the ateliers, spotlights the impeccable craftsmanship and savoir-faire that goes into the making of each Dior masterpiece. At the very end is 30 Montaigne, Dior’s headquarters, turned into a wearable sculpture by the artist Penny Slinger for Maria Grazia Chiuri’s fall/winter 2019 haute couture show—a literal embodiment of the House that has been fashioning couture dreams for the better part of the last century.
Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Tokyo runs from now until 28th May 2023.
Related article: Dior Is Everywhere All Of A Sudden