The House of Dior: Seventy Years of Haute Couture
A massive exhibition featuring over 140 of the French fashion house's garments.
Overview
Melbourne's NGV International will celebrate the unique designs and lasting legacy of fashion icon Christian Dior, in a world premiere exhibition launching in August next year.
Running from August 27 to November 7, The House of Dior: Seventy Years of Haute Couture will be one of three major surveys of Dior's groundbreaking work, alongside exhibitions in Paris and New York. The Melbourne show will include more than 140 show-stopping garments, stretching the length and breadth of the label's extraordinary history.
"Highlights of the NGV's House of Dior exhibition will include one of the few surviving examples of Christian Dior's New Look collection, which revitalised women's fashion in the post-war era," said gallery director Tony Ellwood while announcing the exhibition at a launch event earlier today. "And of course it wouldn't be a Dior exhibition without their sculptural tailoring, their signature ball gowns and their glamorous evening dresses which have become synonymous with the fashion house."
"Audiences will discover the nuances of Dior's fashion design, and observe the ways in which these have evolved through the decades. The exhibition will also celebrate the milestones of Dior's six successive designers," he added.
A key element of the exhibition will be an exploration of Dior's historic 1948 spring fashion parade at David Jones in Sydney, considered to be the first complete Dior collection to be shown outside of Paris. The exhibition will also tie in with the gallery's first ever Gala Ball. "Think Met Gala, but with a Melbourne sense of style," said Ellwood.
Speaking at the launch, Victoria's Minister for Creative Industries Martin Foley called the exhibition "a major milestone for the gallery, for Dior and for our city."
"The creativity and imagination of Christian Dior, the depth of his vision, and the range of his skills, could find no better city, and no better partner gallery, for a retrospective display, than Melbourne's National Gallery of Victoria," said Mr. Foley.
Image: National Gallery of Victoria and House of Dior announce House of Dior: Seventy Years of Haute Couture at NGV International, August 2017. Shot by Wayne Taylor.
