With a cascade of 3,000 ceramic Dior perfume bottles suspended from the ceiling forming a dramatic installation by artist Liu Jianhua, it's clear Dior isn't content with merely playing the 'heritage' card in China.
Last night the Esprit Dior exhibition opened at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Shanghai's historic People's Park. Merely delving into the archives would have patronised China's new savvy consumers, so instead Dior presented nine themes, grouping collections together from 1947 to the present day, and introduced eight of China's emerging artists to display an homage to the maestro of Avenue Montaigne.
The artists involved feel a personal connection with what Dior represents. Liu Jianhua said 'I was very impressed with the history, and story and entrepreneurship of Christian Dior.' Liu Tianmiao paid tribute to the atelier's technicians and 'grafted tools and skeletons to create new values' while bad boy Zhang Huan's portrait used incense ash from Buddhist temples 'to symbolise Dior's collective soul'.
Christian Dior's first art gallery showed Dali, Giacometti, Miró and Klee, and - like Raf Simons - he had a background in architecture, which gave him a broadness of vision, to which this show is a testament. It is also intriguing to distinguish the details of each individual designer's interpretation of Dior's sculpted silhouettes, season by season, designer by designer. Such is the iconography of Dior. The exhibition presents a riveting portrayal of one man's unique vision, seen through many talented and experimental eyes.
Judging by the extensive client list at the Shanghai opening, Dior has the definitive mainland A-lister address book and the incorporation of Chinese artists added edge to the event. Photographer Patrick Demarchelier enthused 'I love the mixture of clothes, pictures and art. As a young photographer, Dior was actually one of my first clients.'
With more than a hundred Dior dresses on display, contrasting the 'New Look' of 1947 to the present day red carpet designs for brand ambassador starlets, no detail has been spared. Milliner Stephen Jones was thrilled to spend four days personally positioning each hat on the mannequins. 'We have all the wooden blocks, and some from 1947 where it all started. It's a dream come true. To be in Dior, to be in that house and to work with the amazing technicians in the atelier.'
Adds curator Florence Muller: 'This exhibition is a mix of art and fashion, but also of past and present, a theme many of the Chinese artists can relate to.'
The Dior & Artists room explores the long-standing relationship between the maison and the art world. Christian Dior's first art gallery showed Dali, Giacometti, Miró and Klee, and - like Raf Simons - he had a background in architecture, which gave him a broadness of vision
On the wall is a new work commissioned for the exhibition by Zeng Fanzhi. 'My first encounter with Mr Dior happened through a Chinese fashion magazine named Liu Xing Tong Xun, in the 1990s,' says the artist. 'For me, he is not only a designer but also an artist. I hope this portrait expresses my respect for him'
The Dior Ateliers room gives visitors a glimpse into the inner workings of the fashion house. In the corner is 'Form of extension in space' by Liu Jianhua. Its form echoes the shape of a needle
The 'From Pink to Red' theme looks at Christian Dior's fascination with these hues, which represented the dual facets of femininity for the designer, and were a constant source of inspiration for him from 1947. The exhibition explores this colour palette in all its splendour, ranging from the Edith evening dress, the Gourah ensemble and the pink Diablotine and Cotillon dresses to the pink wool crepe day dress created by Raf Simons for the Haute Couture Collection A/W 2012
The Paris room bears a backdrop of the original Avenue Montaigne store. It looks at how, from 1947, Christian Dior cannily created the complete wardrobe for every moment of the day, such his 'short evening dress' and 'robe de petit soir' for cocktail hour, which became a must for the modern woman moving effortlessly from cocktails to dinner. One of Simon's contemporary takes on this intermediary outfit is an ensemble with a short dress worn over slim-fitting trousers
Eight of China's emerging artists were invited to create an homage to the maestro of Avenue Montaigne. 'One Sentence, Sixteen Places', by Qiu Zhijie, 2012, is a motion picture installation, covering 16 LCD screens
Liu Tianmiao paid tribute to the atelier's technicians and 'grafted tools and skeletons to create new values' with her installation, entitled 'Procedures'
Tianmiao has woven gold thread around everything from skeletons to scissors to create her installation
The 'tools' of Tianmiao's work
ADDRESS
Museum of Contemporary Art
People's Park
231 Nanjing West Road
Shanghai, 200003
China
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