The Dior Gallery Paris: Between Know-How and Daydreams
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For over 80 years, one of the most prestigious haute couture houses in the world, Dior, has reigned on Avenue Montaigne. Known for its pieces with both elegant and revolutionary cuts and flower-inspired romantic motifs, we set out to meet the man behind its genesis. By traveling back in time and through collections, La Galerie Dior Paris offers us a privileged dive into this creative haven to rediscover the house’s history. Here’s a recap of a visit that bridges the present and the past, a celebration of craftsmanship, and daydreams surrounding nature and the arts.
What is La Galerie Dior Paris?
Opened to the public in March 2022, La Galerie Dior invites us to encounter the creator Christian Dior through archival documents, photos, sketches, letters, collection documents, videos, and more than a thousand pieces, some of which are revealed for the first time before the public’s eyes.
Guided by words he penned in his autobiography, Christian Dior and I, we rediscover the couturier, from his childhood to the runway shows. We are opened up to his youth, his living spaces, his circle, and the encounters that all served as a bottomless source of inspiration for him, and which, even today, provide a backdrop for the couturiers who have followed in his footsteps, preserving the soul of the house with accents of Eden Garden.
We discover years of creation, having the woman as his muse, whom he never ceased to elevate, and whom he wished, as he said, “not to make more beautiful, but to make happier.”
From one end of the visit to the other, we are enchanted by the work of fabrics and materials, the approach to curves and cuts. The Ariadne thread represented by flowers enchants us with its poetry, and the magic that takes hold of the evening gowns captivates us.
La Galerie Dior Paris offers a journey through time, both through the exhibited pieces and the venue itself, the heart of the house. We navigate between sections echoing the past, complete with an office, a workshop, and flooring. All wrapped in a touch of refined modernity. The Dior house traverses eras, while remaining timeless.
La Galerie Dior Paris: A Place of Fashion and History
Upon entering 11 rue François 1er, we discover a place where the echoes of an astonishing history resonate. A place where multiple fragments of life and creations were born, contributing to the renown of this address. We find a place that, like the collections, has grown over time.
The small private hotel, built in 1865 by the son of Napoleon I on Avenue Montaigne, offering three workshop spaces, saw its area expand with the growing success of the creator. Acquired in 1946, at the launch of the house, its premises gradually revealed themselves as a theater stage, where everyone wanted to lend their gaze. The greatest names in fashion and art presented here, along with other prestigious clients, including Marlène Dietrich, Rita Hayworth, and Grace Kelly.
These walls, which now host La Galerie Dior Paris, have also witnessed the creativity of other couturiers expressing themselves here, following the passing of Christian Dior. Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Bohan, Gianfranco Ferré, John Galliano, Raf Simons, and Maria Grazia Chiuri, each in turn, have unveiled collections infused with their personality and vision, while still aligning with the image of the house, to honor the legacy of the great French couturier.
Meeting One of the Greatest Creators at La Galerie Dior Paris
La Galerie Dior pays tribute to its creator, his imagination, and his creative legacy. A celebration of over 80 years of tailoring and an ode to feminine silhouettes, which the French couturier shaped with his vision for the first ten years before passing the torch.
Through various archives, where time stands still, we discover the young years of Christian Dior, set against the backdrop of “Les Rhumbs”, this family home in Granville, filled with the sounds of waves and the fragrances of rose gardens. Its atmosphere, pink plaster, and gray gravel guided Christian Dior’s collections, and still reflect today in the soul of the house.
We uncover the story of a family, nourished by a love for nature, visual creation, but also with a tragic destiny. The creator’s words highlight the years being presented to us and how life steered him away from Sciences Po, guiding him toward the path that was meant for him. A gallery owner at 23, an illustrator, then an apprentice model maker at Robert Piguet, and a confirmation of vocation at Lucien Lelong. It was in 1946 that his eponymous couture house was born, encouraged by a sign, that of a star found on rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré.
The photos present at La Galerie Dior Paris immerse us in the success that was written through pieces with revolutionary cuts that broke away from what was known. A clear success, unexpectedly rapid, yet somewhat regretted. A house whose radiance has transcended the hexagon, beginning with the first opening of a subsidiary in New York, then shops abroad, and the multiplication of presentations across the globe, including Greece, Japan, Australia, and England.
In addition to the love for horticulture passed down by his mother, which inspires pieces, both for their motifs and their utility (like the leather bouquet holder bag presented for 2022), the creator’s sketches were also nourished by his encounters.
La Galerie Dior Paris highlights the creator’s passion for art, and the circle of artists and intellectuals in which he moved, including Jean Cocteau and Salvador Dali, to name just two, who came to enrich Christian Dior’s work. From these elective affinities arose a passion for balls and castle soirées, and the creation of sumptuous pieces for prestigious silhouettes, from Lady Diana, to Sophia Loren, and more recently, Emma Stone.
Discovery of the Genesis of Iconic Dior Pieces
If Christian Dior disrupted fashion so much, it is notably for his approach to the feminine silhouette that he rethought, between tradition and modernity. La Galerie Dior Paris allows us to rediscover the emblematic pieces of the House of Dior, including the bar suit, synonymous with consecration. Created for his first collection, this Dior suit reshuffled the cards of fashion with an audacious 8-shaped silhouette, marked by the inspiration of 18th-century corsets, and linked to a flared skirt. An ensemble that caused a sensation, and which the editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar referred to as the New Look.
A new silhouette of a flower-woman, which set the tone for future collections by creators to this day, intertwined with floral fabrics and needlework wrapping pieces with delicate details, between lily of the valley bellflowers, cascades of flowers, and rose-shaped buttons. Pieces that, like petals, embrace and reveal the bodies of women. La Galerie Dior Paris celebrates a whole mastery, executed by the small hands of the workshops, which we observe with enchantment.
Why Visit La Galerie Dior?
La Galerie Dior Paris captivated us with its scenography. From one space to another, we discover the different facets and inspirations of the creator and the House of Dior, through staging that is both delicate and sumptuous. Enchanted gardens and forests, museum corners echoing Cocteau, Dali, Man Ray, and Giacometti, an ode to the Parisian woman, and work around perfume, inspirations from various destinations, corridors of accessories shining with their crystals and colors…
Each pause in the visit transports us, leading to a climactic moment, an entry into another world, that of parties and balls, which left us, like all other visitors, speechless in the face of so much creativity.
The scenography of La Galerie Dior Paris allows us to relive the workshop work, the ambiance of presentation salons, and the spirit of runway shows. The visit allows us to experience fashion from various angles, and we succumb to the pieces of the house.
Coffee Break at Dior
To linger a little longer in the dreamlike essence of La Galerie Dior Paris, a coffee awaits you at the end of the visit. Additionally, palates may also be tempted, either at Monsieur Dior Restaurant, or in the tearoom, both located in the boutique at 30 Avenue Montaigne. If the visit to La Galerie Dior has piqued your curiosity, you can also visit the Dior Museum in Granville. We also recommend the exhibition on the Golds of Yves Saint Laurent, who was the first successor to Christian Dior.
In the meantime, here are some Dior pieces available on Modalova!
Photos: Pinterest
