Shanghai hosts Christian Dior exhibition

Versailles, or the art of living in the 18th century, will always be the supreme expression of French luxury, and one of the inexhaustible inspirations of the Dior spirit. When Christian Dior founded his couture house at 30 avenue Montaigne, he wanted it to have a refined, elegant ambience with an 18th-century feeling. He chose “Trianon grey,” soon to be known as “Dior grey,” for the drapes and walls, and replicas of the so-called “à la reine” chairs with medallion-shaped backs by the 18th-century cabinet maker Delanois.

The Fontanges bow, one of La Maison’s emblems, graced Marie-Antoinette’s furniture. The famous Dior salons where he showed his collections were also furnished in the 18th-century style. Christian Dior profoundly admired the sumptuous outfits of the century of Marie-Antoinette, and so many of his creations – ball gowns, evening dresses, jewellery, plastrons, and perfume bottles – seem to be inspired by the pomp of Versailles. The simple dresses the queen wore at the Petit Trianon were also reinterpreted from collection to collection.

The aim was always the same: to recreate a dream of splendour, to revive the fabulous heritage of the techniques perfected during this golden century. The artistic directors who succeeded him have also been fond of harking back to the century of the Enlightenment, and the world of Dior perfumes has been another constant inspiration.

J’adore:

The 1950s was the glorious era of the great balls, whose pomp and splendour crystallised the newfound joie de vivre after the trials and hardships of the war years. The aura of grand festivities had always filled

Christian Dior with wonder, and these balls were magical moments for him. Always rising to these great occasions, such as Charles de Beistegui’s “Ball of the Century” in Venice in 1951, he adorned his prestigious clientele of socialites, actresses and princesses with gowns as unforgettable as these legendary soirées.

Gold, and its myriad warm, cold, bronze and coppery nuances, is the keynote of an evocation of a ball at Versailles: the shimmering golds of the gowns and the sparkling golds of the panelling, chandeliers and mirrors of the Hall of Mirrors, the breathtaking setting for Charlize Theron in the film for the perfume J’adore, and for the models in the film Secret Garden – Versailles.

Stars en Dior:

From 1947, the most beautiful women in the world, ranging from actresses to royalty, flocked to Paris to be dressed in the outrageously poetic new Dior chic. Christian Dior’s only concern was to enhance their beauty, sculpt their silhouette and make them ever more radiant. The greatest stars of Hollywood’s golden age – Marlene Dietrich, Marilyn Monroe, Ava Gardner, Rita Hayworth – knew better than any that the empathic couturier could help shape their destiny and fulfil their dreams of splendour.

The House of Dior’s intimate relationship with these ambassadresses of elegance has never waned, from Sophia Loren to Brigitte Bardot, Grace Kelly and Princess Diana. But the list of radiant muses goes on: today’s most talented stars - Charlize Theron, Marion Cotillard, Natalie Portman, Mélanie Laurent, Jennifer Lawrence – are now gracing the Dior firmament with their timeless aura.

Christian Dior