From Princess Margaret’s 21st birthday gown to the thousands of paper roses blooming, the mood of Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams is clearly British. The exhibition is a reconfiguration of the 2017 Paris show, Christian Dior: Couturier du Rêve, at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, with a different thematic journey, 60 per cent new content and an original installation celebrating a 21-year-old from Normandy fell in love with upon his first visit to perfect his English.
Led by fashion and textiles curator Oriole Cullen and set designer Nathalie Crinière, Designer of Dreams is the first fashion exhibition to be staged in the V&A's new Amanda Levete-designed galleries, and the largest of its kind at the museum since Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty in 2015. From the recreation of the Avenue Montaigne Dior boutique façade that welcomes visitors, to the temple de l'Amour in Versailles in the "Historicism" section and the expansive ballroom at the exhibition’s close – which features a seven-minute reel of shooting stars and golden glitter rain on the ceiling and walls – this is the V&A in its full glossy regalia.
Led by fashion and textiles curator Oriole Cullen and set designer Nathalie Crinière, Designer of Dreams is the first fashion exhibition to be staged in the V&A's new Amanda Levete-designed galleries, and the largest of its kind at the museum since Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty in 2015. From the recreation of the Avenue Montaigne Dior boutique façade that welcomes visitors, to the temple de l'Amour in Versailles in the "Historicism" section and the expansive ballroom at the exhibition’s close – which features a seven-minute reel of shooting stars and golden glitter rain on the ceiling and walls – this is the V&A in its full glossy regalia.
