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Dior’s New Look
Over the summer holiday, LUMI had a chance to visit the Christian Dior Museum, situated in the designer’s childhood home, in Granville on the Normandy coast. We became interested in the location after reading a quote by Dior, describing the place:
[blockquote3]I have the most tender and amazed memories of my childhood home. I would even say that my life and my style owe almost everything to its site and architecture.[/blockquote3]We have always been fascinated by early influences, and how they play out in creative work, so jumped at the chance to see the environment in which the legendary designer began his life. However, after a less than inspiring three hour train ride from Paris, and after arriving in the equally uninspiring town of Granville, which is not exactly a chic seaside resort, we were less confident in our decision.
That is, until we saw the house — a three story, hydrangea pink structure, surrounded by an immaculately kept garden, all of which is perched on a clifftop overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.
The house itself, which was transformed into the museum in 1997, is easily covered in an afternoon. The three floors contain over 60 haute couture dresses, gowns and suits in every color imaginable, and include the now classic styles made familiar by the leading ladies of international society, from Princess Grace to Jackie Kennedy.
During our visit, the Museum was holding an exhibition on Dior’s infamous 1947 exhibition, Dior, The New Look Revolution, which introduced his ultra-feminine hourglass shape, which was nothing short of a fashion revolution after decades of boxy, World War II styles, with their emphasis on fabric-conserving shapes.
After a healthy dose of haute couture, we headed out to the garden, which offered a perfect counter-point to all of Dior’s floral inspired fashion. Sitting on the bench, looking out over the Atlantic, the connection between all this natural beauty and Dior’s revolutionary New Look could not have been more clear. As Dior himself said: “I have designed flower women.”
[/spb_text_block] [spb_blank_spacer height=”1px” width=”1/4″ el_position=”last”] [spb_blank_spacer height=”30px” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_image image=”16461″ image_size=”full” frame=”noframe” intro_animation=”fadeIn” animation_delay=”200″ fullwidth=”no” lightbox=”yes” link_target=”_self” caption_pos=”hover” width=”1/3″ el_position=”first”] [spb_image image=”16462″ image_size=”full” frame=”noframe” intro_animation=”fadeIn” animation_delay=”200″ fullwidth=”no” lightbox=”yes” link_target=”_self” caption_pos=”hover” width=”1/3″] [spb_image image=”16463″ image_size=”full” frame=”noframe” intro_animation=”fadeIn” animation_delay=”200″ fullwidth=”no” lightbox=”yes” link_target=”_self” caption_pos=”hover” width=”1/3″ el_position=”last”] [spb_blank_spacer height=”30px” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_blank_spacer height=”1px” width=”1/4″ el_position=”first”] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”3″ width=”1/2″]And, of course, what other LUMI handbag could we possibly take on our visit to the Dior Museum, than our berry colored Classic Supermarket Bag? We would like to believe that Mr. Dior would approve of the choice.
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