Christian Dior “Designer of Dreams”

Brooklyn Museum

This event has ended.

In the decades after World War II, Christian Dior became one of the world’s most recognized names in fashion. Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams explores the history of the House of Dior, bringing to life Dior’s many sources of inspiration—from the splendor of flowers and other natural forms to classical and contemporary art.

With objects drawn primarily from the Dior archives, the exhibition presents a wide array of over two hundred haute couture garments as well as photographs, archival videos, sketches, vintage perfume elements, and accessories, and features works from the Museum’s collection. The haute couture on view exemplifies the French couturier’s fabled silhouettes, including his groundbreaking “New Look,” which debuted in 1947.

Presented are galleries devoted to the years that Dior, as well as his six successors, each designed at the House of Dior, followed by eighteenth-century-inspired gowns, a “colorama” display of Dior accessories, and a gallery of toiles (the full-scale, 3-D mockups used to confirm finished designs) showcasing the dressmaking process. The central atrium of our Beaux-Arts Court has been redesigned as an enchanted garden, and a concluding gallery celebrates dresses worn by stars from Grace Kelly to Jennifer Lawrence.

Admission to Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams includes General Admission but does not include The Obama Portraits Tour (closing October 24) or Andy Warhol: Revelation (opening November 19), which each require a separate ticket.

[Image: Christian Dior (French, 1905–1957). Bar suit, afternoon ensemble with an ecru natural shantung jacket and black pleated wool crepe skirt. Haute Couture Spring–Summer 1947, Corolle line. Dior Héritage collection, Paris. (Composite scan: Katerina Jebb)]