Biggest ever Christian Dior fashion exhibition coming to the V&A in 2019

In February 2019, the V&A is to open the largest exhibition ever staged in the UK on the House of Dior.

This is set to be the museum’s biggest fashion exhibition since Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty in 2015.

From 1947 to the present day, Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams recalls the historic impact of one of the 20th century’s most influential couturiers, and the six artistic directors who have succeeded him, exploring the fashion house’s influence.

Based on the major exhibition, Christian Dior: Couturier du Rêve, organised by the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, in Paris, the exhibition has been reimagined for the V&A.

The Baccarat crystal bottle designed by Christian Dior for Diorissimmo perfume, 1956.

Oriole Cullen, fashion and textiles curator at the V&A, said: “In 1947, Christian Dior changed the face of fashion with his New Look, which redefined the female silhouette and reinvigorated the post-War Parisian fashion industry.

“The V&A recognised Dior’s important contribution to design history early-on in his career, acquiring his sketches and garments from the 1950s onwards.

“The influence of Christian Dior’s design was all-pervasive and helped to define an era. In their own individual ways, each of the house’s artistic directors have referenced and reinterpreted Dior’s own designs and continued the legacy of the founder, ensuring that the House of Christian Dior is at the forefront of fashion today.

“More than seventy years after its founding, the V&A’s exhibition celebrates the enduring influence of the House of Dior and reveals Dior’s relationship with Britain.”

Christian Dior by John Galliano, autumn/winter 2004.

A new section explores, for the first time, the designer’s supposed fascination with British culture.

Drawn from the Dior Archives, the exhibition will display over 500 objects, with over 200 haute couture garments shown alongside accessories, fashion photography, film, vintage perfume, original makeup, illustrations, magazines, as well as Christian Dior’s personal possessions.