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Visit Paris’s newest fashion museum: La Galerie Dior

It is no secret that Paris has been the capital of fashion since the seventeenth century. The city has been the playground for prestigious designers and couture brands like Chanel, Dior, and Saint Laurent. Today the Parisian style is not only an aesthetic choice but a philosophy. It embraces elegance, timelessness, and slow responsible fashion. The focus is on the cut and the quality of the materials. No fluff or excessiveness with a less is more approach. And what better way to understand Parisian fashion than to visit a museum dedicated to it.

For more than 70 years, the house has been crafting magical couture pieces in their atelier at 30 Avenue Montaigne in Paris. Christian Dior has made this location a legendary address since the first collection in 1947. Behind its new flagship, the House of Dior inaugurates a permanent exhibition in an extraordinary gallery, independently of its boutique. Mr. Dior wanted to be an architect; the building and the museum pay him a beautiful tribute today.

The staging is astonishing. A circular staircase at the entrance showcases 452 dresses and 1,422 accessories, all 3D printed. Bags, shoes, perfumes, and small objects: so many testimonies of the Dior style materialized to elaborate this Diorama.

Location

11 rue François 1er , the entrance is discreet. A few steps away behind the flagship. It’s a 2,000-square-meter scenography that disrupts the codes of museum fashion under the direction of Olivier Flaviano. Flaviano is also the former director of the Yves Saint Laurent Paris Museum.

In the very place where the great couturier had set up his first workshops, the gallery tells the story of Dior. We stroll between Christian Dior’s office, preserved as it was.

13 themes

The Dior fashion museum is built around thirteen themes and mixes projections, photographs, and archival dresses within dreamy settings. The hyper contemporary staging arranged by Nathalie Crinière is a pure marvel. Starting with the gallery entrance, which was entrusted to the British artist Marc Quinn, who was responsible for creating a work from the designer’s fingerprint.

We also discover rooms dedicated to the worlds of Beauty and Perfumery. In particular, the history of the best-selling fragrances Miss Dior and J’Adore. The most iconic models of all the designers who have worked at Dior (John Galliano, Yves Saint Laurent, Gianfranco Ferré, Maria Grazia Chiuri…) come back to life, all presented in front of a video of the show to make real and magical.

We then cross the silhouettes of the icons of femininity, Marilyn Monroe, Charlize Theron, Lady Diana, Grace Kelly, Sophie Marceau, Nathalie Portman, Nicole Kidman, Adele, and Rihanna. A story of talents and passions ends in apotheosis with this flamboyant finale, highlighting the most sumptuous evening gowns, among which shine many creations gathered for the first time in Paris.

The cafe dior

The fun doesn’t end after the fashion museum. The gallery also has a Café. It is located on the second floor and is only accessible to visitors. Along with the Café is a boutique with a selection of books and stationery. Check out our blog page to read more about our travels.