Christian Dior Honored In Art Exhibition In Moscow

Another great designer is being honored for his contributions to the arts and fashion. The works of Christian Dior will be honored in an exhibition entitled Inspiration Dior that will be held in the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow, Russia. Womens Wear Daily reports:

The showcase, opening to the public April 28 and running through July 24, is to feature about 120 couture dresses along with some 60 blue-chip artworks, including paintings from the Pushkin’s bulging collection and others on loan from top museums and private collections.

Dovima with Elephants

Along with many of Christian Dior's most famous looks including 1479s "New Look", will be an image of Dovima with Elephants one of the most iconic photographs taken in world of fashion. Photographed by the famous Richard Avedon and Irving Penn this photograph  " set the gold standard for American Photography" according to Owen Edwards. Dior's famous dress really made this photograph an icon, any other design would have fallen short of its grace.

The exhibition will be covering the full history of Dior including pieces of his famous successors such a Yves Saint Laurent and John Galliano even expanding to the company's leather goods, jewelry, and perfumes. But nothing will over shadow the influential designs of Christian Dior's pieces when he reined the fashion industry.

Students of fashion and even those who have a love of fashion recognize the influence of Dior on the fashion industry, but the general public would probably fail if this were a test question on a game show. In case you had fallen asleep during your "Fashion History 101" class here is a brief history.  When WWII began, in order for the country to save money from war cost, everyone had to cut back, including designers, those fabric heavy dresses from the 1930s vanished and designers took to designs that fit closer to the body therefore using less fabric.

The debut of The New Look

 Fast forward to after the war,  Dior debuted the "New Look" which turned the fashion industry as a whole on its head. Long gone where the body hugging dresses of the last 8 years and in came the famous circle skirts and play on volumes on parts of the body that have not been seen in fashion. The audience and especially Hollywood took to this look quickly and it easily became the look of an entire generation.   Anytime you look Hollywood film  from  that decade or a movie based on that decade such as Audrey Hepburn's Funny Girl  and even Grease you will see the influence of Dior's look.

Christian Dior only saw the beginning of his fashion influence passing away in 1957 but not only will the work of Christian Dior live on so will the contributions of  his successors. Dior has always obtained an extremely high standard when it comes to its clothes, standards that very few designers wouldn't dream to duplicate, but when you have such a rich heritage and body of work such a Dior's it is expected for you to be always be in the forefront of fashion and the Dior name along with its standard will live on for many generations to come.



[Photo Source 1]
[Photo Source 2]
[Photo Source 3]