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The House of Dior

The National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne is set to present never-before-seen exhibition The House of Dior: Seventy Years of Haute Couture next year to mark the celebration of the seventieth anniversary of the House of Dior.

Inside the ateliers of the House of Dior, 2012. © Pol Baril

The National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne is set to present never-before-seen exhibition The House of Dior: Seventy Years of Haute Couture next year to mark the celebration of the seventieth anniversary of the House of Dior. Running from 27 August to 7 November 2017, the exhibition will showcase over 140 garments that the prestigious couture house has produced in their commendable lifetime from 1947 to 2017.

Diorama dress, autumn-winter 1947 haute couture collection. All rights reserved. Photo: Sante Forlano

Highlights will include classics such as examples from Christian Dior’s iconic Spring 1947 ‘New Look’ collection and displays of the iconic fashion House’s signature ball gowns and evening dresses, as well as current contemporary designs from their first female head designer, Maria Grazia Chiuri. The exhibition will also feature accessories, sketches, photographs, haute couture toiles, multimedia and archival material.

Christian Dior models in the salon of House of Dior’s headquarters, 30 Avenue Montaigne, Paris 1957. Photograph by Loomis Dean, featured in LIFE magazine, 1957. © Loomis Dean/The LIFE Picture Collection/Licensed by Getty Images (image: 50690286)​Galliano (designer) autumn-winter 2010 haute couture collection. Photo © Guy Marineau

Dior’s early influences will be explored, as well as design codes synonymous with Dior and the milestones of the designers such as Yves St Laurent who followed in Dior’s footsteps in the wake of his sudden death in 1957.

The exhibition will also display the unique affinity which Dior has with Australia, including the historic Spring 1948 fashion parade at David Jones in Sydney, where fifty original creations by Christian Dior were worn by House models. This is considered to be the first complete collection to be shown outside of Paris.

“The exhibition will invite Australian and international audiences to discover some of the most significant couture designs of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The exhibition will be a celebration of Dior’s most landmark moments and designs, including their iconic ‘New Look’ silhouette, which revolutionised women’s fashion in the 1950s, through to the present-day contemporary aesthetic. We are also delighted that 68 years after the historic Dior fashion parade at its Sydney store, David Jones is once again helping Australia celebrate the House of Dior, as the exhibition’s principal partner,” said Tony Ellwood, Director, NGV.

“2017 is shaping up to be a blockbuster year for the NGV and for art, design and fashion lovers. The House of Dior: Seventy Years of Haute Couture will be a stylish addition to our unparalleled creative calendar. This exciting collaboration with one of the world’s great fashion houses is a testament to the NGV’s global standing, the strength of its fashion collection and expertise and its role in our creative state,” said Martin Foley, Minister for Creative Industries.

The opening of the exhibition will be celebrated with the inaugural NGV gala, with profits going towards the NGV Fashion and Textiles collection. www.ngv.vic.gov.au

Hero image: Christian Dior, Paris (fashion house) John Galliano (designer) autumn-winter 2010 haute couture collection. Photo © Guy Marineau

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