Haute couture gets its due at one of Paris’s most-visited Museums: Les Arts Decoratifs!
A current exhibit there celebrates the work of one of the world’s best known couturiers.
“Christian Dior: Couturier Du Reve” (Chrisitian Dior: Couturier of Dreams) opened in July. The Maison Swarovski-sponsored exhibit marks the 70th Anniversary of the House of Dior. It celebrates the work of one of the world’s best known couturiers.
The exhibit features some of Dior’s iconic pieces.
Following the presentation of Dior’s first Spring-Summer collection, the Harper’s Bazaar editor-in-chief credited the designer with creating the “New Look”. This look featured a silhouette emphasizing the curve of a woman’s bust, hips and waist.
During that show, Dior’s so-called “Bar Suit” also made a splash. It featured a morning coat with rounded tails as well as a large pleated skirt which swung as a woman moved.
Dior was one of the earliest designers to market products that would subsidize the fashion brand. In 1947, he set up a company that specialized in perfumes.
In 1953, about seven years after starting the House of Dior, the designer opened a boutique in Caracas, Venezuela. In doing so, Dior became one of the first French couturiers to set an example for global marketing and brand development.
In years that followed, Dior branched out into designing costumes worn by film actresses — including Brigitte Bardot and Ava Gardner. Some famous actresses became clients of Dior.
Dior passed away just 11 years after starting the House of Dior. However, the exhibit also features the work of designers who have served as the house’s artistic director since then: Yves Saint-Laurent, Marc Bohan, Gianfranco Ferre, Rafe Simons and currently Maria Grazia Chiuri, the first woman ever appointed House of Dior Artistic Director.
Though, Dior passed away 11 years after starting the House of Dior, the couturier’s legacy continues to influence not only fashion designers but the world of fashion at large.
The exhibit runs through January 7, 2018.
If you can’t make it to Paris by January 7th for the Christian Dior exhibit, you can check out the work of one of Dior’s successors at the Yves Saint Laurent Museum in Paris.
That’s the Lowdown.
For more about one of Christian Dior’s successors, check out this museum:
The Yves Saint Laurent Museum, Paris, France: The Lowdown
For a bite to eat at a Parisian bistro, offering delicious fare, check out this link:
The Lowdown with Mikey B 