Above - The dress worn by opera singer, Axelle Saint-Cirel to sing the French national anthem at the 2024 Paris Olympics Opening Ceremonies.
One of the through-lines of my year has been the designer, Christian Dior. I have found myself on an unexpected and delightful deep dive into the designer’s life and work that culminated this summer with a visit to La Galerie Dior in Paris.
It was such a joy to see the workmanship and details of the clothes up close and even more exciting to find that they had recently updated the exhibit to include the dresses the house created for the female performers in the 2024 Paris Olympic Opening Ceremonies.
But let’s rewind to the beginning. It all started this spring while visiting fellow milliner, Cassie MacGregor for our annual Kentucky Derby Trunk Show in Dallas. One evening we decided to start watching the wonderful Apple TV series, The New Look together. This dramatic story follows designers Christian Dior and Coco Chanel as they navigate the Paris of World War II and it is filled with the most gorgeous fashion.
I was familiar with most of the Coco Chanel history, but the Dior storyline was new to me. As I continued the series back at home, I found myself rewatching episodes to focus on the clothes because my initial viewing had me riveted to the story and parsing out which details were true, and which had been embellished for the show.
Above - A selection of dresses embellished with flowers from La Galerie Dior exhibit.
It’s a great watch if you are looking for something to binge this winter break and there is talk of a second season coming that follows the designers post war period (fingers crossed).
From there, Cassie surprised me with a copy of the book, Miss Dior: A Wartime Story of Courage and Couture by Justine Picardie. A beautiful dive into the relationship between Christian Dior and his beloved sister and muse Catherine. It tells the deeper story of Catherine’s work with the French Resistance and the aftereffects of her capture by the Gestapo and eventual deportation to Ravensbrück. The siblings deep, emotional bond and how Christian’s empathy and love for Catherine brought about the foundation for his New Look collection and signature scent, Miss Dior. The book filled in the historical gaps of Dior’s story and expanded upon the design inspiration he found in his mother’s garden.
After that, I was lucky enough to find myself headed to Paris and visiting La Galerie Dior while I was there was at the top on my list (after croissants, of course). The exhibit is fantastic with a timeline that explores his early years and military service, his work as an illustrator and milliner, his time designing for Lucien Lelong and eventually the creation of his own fashion house and some of the work of the designers that have taken the helm for the House of Dior after his retirement. It really brings the world of Dior to life in the most beautiful way and weaves the influence that flowers had on his designs to life. If you find yourself in Paris, I recommend getting tickets to see his stunning work in person.
Pictured above, a few of the ensembles from the exhibit that resonated with me:
Row 1: A daytime ensemble from the “New Look” collection with a signature hat, A front & side view of an evening dress with a uniquely placed flower
Row 2: Two black daytime ensembles utilizing layered textures, An evening dress with a delicate lace overlay, A close up of a hand-made lace and satin flower accenting a dress bodice
Row 3: A more modern suit created for Dior by Yves Saint Laurent incorporating a hooded jacket, An extravagant evening gown of floral printed silk (the back of the dress can be seen in the mirror), The beaded dress Celine Dion wore for the 2024 Paris Olympic Opening Ceremonies
Row 4: Three cotton and muslin dress prototypes from one of my favorite rooms in the exhibit which was made up of all white prototypes and works in progress with the designers markings and embelishments
Pictured above: Part of the exhibit featured a cut out in the floor to a birds-eye view of the designer’s millinery workroom with hat making supplies, hat boxes and finished hats, A 3D printed fedora made to look like woven straw, A quote from Christian Dior on the success of his millinery, A crin mask created for the house by Stephen Jones, A sketch by Christian Dior of a tulle shawl and gloves, A wider view of the “white” room in the exhibit made up of cotton muslin samples, Me and my daughter in front of the colorful staircase display at La Galerie Dior.