12 Best Moments from Dior Designer of Dreams Fashion Tour

It’s last call for tickets to the marvelous fashion exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum, Christian Dior Designer of Dreams. The show closes on February 20, 2022, so you don’t have much time to see it with your own eyes. We visited recently, and we’re sharing our photos of the 12 best standout moments, fashion fun facts and gorgeous dresses in the Dior Designer of Dreams on tour exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum in 2021-22. If you can’t get there in person, have a look at the highlights here.

Christian Dior Designer of Dreams at the Brooklyn Museum

The retrospective currently staged at the Brooklyn Museum, Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams, chronicles the history of the House of Dior from 1947 to the present day.

It begins with the French designer crafting symbols and styles that heralded the birth of a new era of elegance with his revolutionary “New Look.” It concludes in the present day, with a lavish display of red carpet gowns designed by the legendary luxury brand.

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On a cold crisp clear winter day, we set out for Brooklyn to see this buzzed-about exhibit with one of our friends who lives in Prospect Park. It was the perfect Girls’ Outing, and we highly recommend it. But you’ll have to move quickly – it closes on February 20, 2022.

Photos of the 12 Best Moments from Christian Dior Designer of Dreams Fashion Tour

In case you miss it – just want to relive your visit – we’re sharing some of our favorite photos from the exhibit. Here are snippets of history, fun facts and a glimpse at some of the stunning looks from the Christian Dior Designer of Dreams fashion exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum stop on its world tour.

1. Christian Dior’s origin and The New Look

French designer Christian Dior launched his eponymous fashion maison on Avenue Montaigne in Paris in 1946. The post-war era had begun, and it proved to be the perfect moment for a young creative clothier to make his mark on the world.

His beautifully draped dresses, cinched waists and full, ankle-length skirts became known as the “New Look.” It was a rejection of wartime rationing and frugality: hems were long and the dresses were ornate. In fact, Dior’s designs stirred controversy at first for their profligate use of fabric.

2. The Iconic “Elephant” Photo – and the actual dress.

Part of the fun of this show is seeing how many iconic fashion and advertising images originated at the House of Dior. One that is instantly recognizable is a swan-like model in an elegant evening gown surrounded by by a towering herd of gentle elephants. The pristine dress juxtaposed with the earthiness of the animals and their surroundings is arresting.

So, how to cool to see this image, and then to see the actual column gown worn in the photo!

3. Other famous ads, celebrity and cover photos.

The show offers several moments like that one. It’s stunning to contemplate how many iconic fashion and celebrity images were from Dior collections. Famous international models, photographers and the occasional celebrity were the ambassadors of the brand during the days when fashion magazines like Vogue ruled supreme.

Richard Avedon, Cass Bird, Henry Clarke, Louise Dahl-Wolfe, Zoë Ghertner, Ethan James Green, Tyler Mitchell, Irving Penn and more – conduct your own treasure hunt and see how many faces you can identify in this gallery. We see you, Rihanna!

Even a small sample of all of the fashion and lifestyle magazine cover stories that featured Dior collections shows the substantial influence the brand has had on our culture through several decades.

4. Designer Timeline: The Yves Saint Laurent Years.

A core part of the exhibit is the transitions that were required when one lead designer had to be replaced by another.

What happens to a brand when the eponymous couturier dies? Almost every luxury brand faces this eventually. In this case, Christian Dior had a plan.

Yves Saint Laurent was the first successor as creative director to Dior himself. He had been Dior’s assistant designer, and before the designer died suddenly in 1957 he had made it clear that the 21-year old Saint Laurent was his preferred successor.

Despite doubts from others about his age and experience, Saint Laurent proved himself worthy, serving as creative director from 1958-60. Like Dior himself, Saint Laurent disrupted traditional views of fashion and conventional notions of how women were “supposed” to look. For example, his Spring Summer 1958 collection launched the trapeze dress, heralding the arrival of a liberated spirit in the 196o’s. He went on to create looks inspired by New Wave cinema and Marlon Brando’s film The Wild One.

5. Designer timeline: Bohan and Ferré.

Not being avid fashion historians, we don’t recall ever hearing the name Marc Bohan until visiting this exhibit. The Frenchman took over when Saint Laurent was conscripted into the army, and designed Dior for almost 30 years, from 1961-1989.

Italian designer Gianfranco Ferré then took the helm, from 1989-1996, becoming the first foreign-born creative director.

6. Designer timeline: The John Galliano Years.

John Galliano became both famous and infamous during his years as creative director at the House of Dior. After a somewhat fallow period, the brand sprung to life under his leadership from 1997-2011. Theatrical, a bit outre and always watched and talked about, Galliano made Dior newly relevant before being forced out over a drunken anti-Semitic tirade at a Parisian bar.

After his abrupt departure, Raf Simons brought the brand a new sense of sophistication and unstudied cool.

7. Designer timeline: The Maria Grazia Chiuri Years.

The first woman ever to be appointed artist director at Dior, beginning in July 2016, Maria Grazia Chiuri has stamped the brand with her own distinctive point of view. Including a strong commitment to empowering women.

Her debut collection centered on the phrase “We Should All Be Feminists,” taken from the title of an essay by Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

8. Toile du Joy

The 18th century and its symbols are a core element of Dior’s DNA. The designer drew inspiration from paintings of life during this period, and the headquarters of the maison in Paris were closely modeled after the Palace of Versailles.

The references to this period are still present in current collections, many of which feature modern twists on a classic toile de Jouy print.

9. Miss Dior

Dior was actually the first major luxury fashion label to launch a fragrance. Miss Dior was a hit from the start, and it remains a highly lucrative part of the brand’s product portfolio.

10. The Color Wall

Some fashion houses are known for one or two signature colors – like Valentino and red. Or Chanel and black and white.

Dior, on the other hand, has always subscribed to a full spectrum of colors, and the “Colorama” gallery makes this plain. It’s a wash of sketches, apparel and accessories in every color of the rainbow.

The splashy vibrant color palette showed up on the runway for the spring summer 2022 collection – so you can invest in a bright orange jacket or a grass green miniskirt in the knowledge that you’re buying into a piece of the label’s heritage.

11. The White Lights

If there’s a fashion heaven, it surely looks like the all-white and silver gallery filled with pristine haute couture apparel from Dior.

The same display can be seen in the Dior flagships around the world – if you’re in London, check out the one in Mayfair.

12. The Enchanted Garden

As stunning as many of these images are, the pièce de résistance of Dior Designer of Dreams comes in one of the last galleries of the exhibit: The Enchanted Garden.

It’s an immersive experience that transports visitors to a dreamscape. Overhead, clouds drift past and flocks of birds pass by. A soft wash of shimmering light illuminates columns and arches that inspire awe and curiosity.

Pretty dresses are arrayed on enormous plinths that seem to stretch to the sky. It’s dazzling, romantic and unforgettable.

It’s also a marvelous reminder that Dior is not just about pretty, feminine frocks (although it is most certainly about that). It’s also about sleek modern pantsuits and noir nights on the town. About light. And shadow.

Christian Dior Designer of Dreams at the Brooklyn Museum

That’s the gallery of our favorite photos from the top moments at Dior Designer of Dreams. Catch it in Brooklyn before it closes if you can. And if you can’t, buy the exhibit catalog. Or just travel with the help of these photos into a dreamy fantasy world of beauty and grace. Isn’t that what fashion’s for?

join our community

For access to insider ideas and information on the world of luxury, sign up for our Dandelion Chandelier Newsletter here. And see luxury in a new light.

Pamela Thomas-Graham is the Founder & CEO of Dandelion Chandelier. A Detroit native, she has 3 Harvard degrees and has written 3 mystery novels published by Simon & Schuster. After serving as a senior corporate executive, CEO of CNBC and partner at McKinsey, she now serves on the boards of several tech companies. She loves fashion, Paris, New York, books, contemporary art, running, skiing, coffee, Corgis and cats.