Maria Grazia Chiuri pays tribute to the Dior workshops and haute couture know-how<

A flesh-colored palette, tone-on-tone embroideries and clean lines: "Haute couture doesn't have to be showy", proclaims the artistic director of Dior who wants to get the message across to the Instagram generation. Welcome to the universe of the workshop, to which Maria Grazia Chiuri wanted to pay homage in this collection, all in sobriety and "hidden luxury", says the Italian designer.

In the gardens of the Rodin Museum, the structure set up for the Dior haute couture fall-winter 2019 show, entirely white, is made up of niches where, on sewing mannequins, pattern canvases, prototypes of clothes made in an immaculate fabric.

The workshops, at the heart of the memory of couture

Welcome to the world of the workshop, to which the Italian designer wanted to pay homage in this sober collection, to the "hidden luxury", says -She. "People sometimes think that haute couture is something that has to be showy, because it's expensive. And only what you see in a photo has value. That's not haute couture" , says Maria Grazia Chiuri. "Of course, if you want something visible in the photo, you need colorful, shiny things, covered with embroidery. But you lose the volume, the cut, the finishes", underlines the artistic director of Dior. The models parade with veiled berets, for a classic and retro touch. A series of midnight blue ensembles opens the ball, consisting of a skirt, belted vest and bolero, trousers and coat-cape, and a pleated crepe dress. But the palette is dominated by flesh colors, with draped, pleated, light dresses that form a second skin. More structured, trouser suits in gold lamé chevron evoke the emblematic silhouette of Christian Dior, with a marked waist. The tapestry spirit is also back, with mille-fleur patterns. On a black Chantilly lace evening dress, "sabre" velvet patterns have been worked using a rare technique, requiring extreme meticulousness, using a blade. They form a relief visible only when approaching very close to the dress.

The timelessness of haute couture

"Ready-to-wear speaks of the present moment, haute couture speaks of timelessness", judges Maria Grazia Chiuri. “We probably need to educate the new generation” in haute couture, whose creations are handmade and made to measure, she underlines. Some dresses in her collection required 800 hours of work. Because "the risk is to lose this tradition a little," says the designer. "If you explain it, you can arouse vocations within the new generation and make it more appreciated by customers".

After Paris, the Christian Dior exhibition will go to London in 2019

After having had a huge success in Paris, the exhibition "Christian Dior, couturier du rêve" will be presented in February 2019 in London at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Entitled "Designer of Dreams", it will be the largest exhibition dedicated to Dior in the United Kingdom, from February 2 to July 14, 2019, with 500 objects, accessories, illustrations, perfumes, clothes presented, including 200 high-end creations. sewing. It covers the entire history of the fashion house, from 1947 to the present day, retracing the career of the brand's founder and evoking the contribution of the six artistic directors who succeeded him. A new section of the exhibition will explore the couturier's relationship with British culture, between his love for stately homes and the suits of Savile Row tailors. "There is no country, except mine, whose daily life I like more", said Christian Dior about the United Kingdom in his autobiography. "I like its customs, its sense of tradition, its politeness, its architecture. I even like English cuisine". The couturier has collaborated with great British craftsmen and dressed several personalities, such as ballet dancer Margot Fonteyn or Princess Margaret, sister of Queen Elizabeth II. As early as 1947, he presented his first show at the Savoy Hotel, London, and created Christian Dior London in 1952. Christian Dior revolutionized fashion with his New Look in 1947, which redefined the feminine silhouette and relaunched the post-war Parisian fashion industry", underlines Oriole Cullen, curator of the exhibition at the V&A. "His influence defined an era". This retrospective, presented at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris from July 2017 to January 2018, was organized with the support of the house of Christian Dior on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the label. 708,000 people had visited the exhibition in six months, a record crowd for the Parisian museum.