Christian Dior : Designer of Dreams. V&A Exhibition.

Dior: Designer of Dreams

If you've followed me for a while or read my about page you may know, I studied and worked in fashion. Although that was a long time ago now I'm still interested in fashion and going to exhibitions.

I booked my tickets for the Dior: Designer of Dreams exhibition at the V&A back in March, it's been so popular and it's now fully booked until it ends on the 1st September. I was so excited to finally go as I've been seeing photos on Instagram and couldn't wait to see the exhibit myself. I took so many photos I thought I'd share them here.

Dior Designer of Dreams Exhibit

Dior's first collection was referred to as the 'New Look' with it's iconic Bar Suit.

Bar Suit

Unfortunately my photo does not do it justice as it was behind glass but this is the classic silhouette that Dior is best known for.

The famous dress Dior designed for Princess Margaret's 21st birthday was on display. This was from around the time he held a catwalk show at Blenheim Palace.

Dior had various sources of inspiration and even after his passing his successors have put their own style on the same themes.

Numerous references to French 18th Century can be found in the dresses created by Dior himself and the Creative Directors that followed. They draw on the lavish style of the court dress worn at Versailles and the decor and decorative arts of this time.

Travel has been another source of inspiration for collections at Dior.

Dior and his mother were keen gardeners. Flowers inspired his designs as well as his perfume. All his perfumes have a floral undertone.

This room was gorgeous, look at the ceiling!

Dior Garden Ceiling

Loved this skirt, check out the detail

Out of all the pretty florals the dress below really stood out and is more my style to wear, I don't think it would ever be in my budget though!

black flower

Another dress I'd love in my wardrobe is this rainbow 🌈

Dior's ballroom was a fairy tale, with changing lights, music and sparkle.

I sat in this room for a while, mainly because my feet were killing me by this point but it was also a lovely place to sit down and admire all the beautiful gowns.

My favourite room though was this room.....

Toile Dior

This room was floor to ceiling of toiles. All garments are first made out of a cheap cotton or linen to perfect the garment, this is known as a toile. Below is an example of a toile and the final garment

To me this room was beautiful, along with the videos showing garments being made it gave me a buzz that reminded me why I loved sewing. It made me realise it's been a loooong time since I used my sewing machine or even a needle and thread. I certainly won't be changing direction in my business but maybe I should make some clothes or upcycle something 🤔