A stunning look back at the House of Dior.
Legendary designer Christian Dior, who resurrected the world of Parisian couture after the Second World War, went on to make an enduring impression in the world of fashion. He broke on to the scene with his first collection in 1947, and an exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum highlighting the first decade of the House of Dior opened in Toronto on Saturday.
“This exhibition tells the story of the House of Dior, but it also tells about Canada and Toronto in haute couture,” said New York-based Bronwyn Cosgrave, a fashion historian and former features editor of British Vogue, who was in town for the launch.
The stunning exhibit based on the ROM’s own collection (which is being shown for the first time) is arranged thematically from daytime to evening wear, accompanied with Dior accessories, contemporary film, sketches and fashion photographs.
The ROM’s collection began with a Dior dinner dress donated by Signy Eaton in 1956, said Alexandra Palmer, the ROM’s Nora E. Vaughan senior curator, who put together the exhibit. She noted that Dior paid incredible attention to detail, piecing together the finest materials with excellent craftsmanship for every garment.
One such example is the Celanese acetate satin blend by luxury manufacturer Robert Perrier, which was made from the cellulose pulp of trees in Prince Rupert, British Columbia. It was used as the ground fabric for Ginisty et Quénolle’s embroidery sample, which inspired Dior’s Palmyre evening dress ( both of which are in the exhibition).
Dior’s mastery of couture quickly established the House, which is marking its 70th anniversary this year. “If you bought Dior clothes you were never out of fashion,” said Palmer, who’s companion book Christian Dior: History & Modernity, 1947-1957 will be published in 2018.
“Dior was an international name and everyone knew him,” she said. “If you were not buying Dior, you were buying something inspired by Dior. And Canadian women wanted to be in fashion as much as anyone else. Canadians were right there for the first collection.”
Many of the pieces in the exhibit were donated by socialites of the period from Montreal and Toronto. The exhibit features beautiful dresses and more than 100 objects, including everything from exquisite embroidery examples to footwear.
In the post-war period Dior wanted not only to re-establish Paris as a centre for couture, but also to make women feel beautiful again, Palmer said. His first collection, which featured soft shoulders, a cinched waist, accentuated hips and long, full skirts, swept away the wartime masculine silhouette and led to a fashion revolution.
Dior was born in Granville, France, in 1905 and began his career as a freelance designer in Paris in 1935. In 1941, he joined the house of Lucien Lelong and in 1946 he set up his own couture house, presenting his first collection, known as the “New Look” on Feb. 12, 1947.
Dior’s influence continues to this day. And the ROM is hosting a variety of events to explore the world of Dior throughout the exhibit, which runs until March 18.