The Dior Grand Ball: A Celebration of Christian Dior, Haute Couture and the Bygone Era of Glamourous Evenings

To honor the multiple decades of exquisite fashion, heritage, Haute Couture and glamour associated with the House of Dior comes this latest exhibition: The Dior Grand Ball. Held in founder Christian Dior‘s hometown in France — Granville — at the Musée Christian Dior, this incredible feast for all senses celebrates the most famous of glamorous balls from the 18th century to the current, with over 50 Dior ball gowns, audio, video, photos, artwork and more.

Describing and discussing The Dior Grand Ball must be prefaced by extolling the divine art form of Haute Couture, one that is kept alive by a chosen few artisans, adhering to the highest of standards, and available to an exclusive, privileged set of patrons. In France, the Chambre de Commerce et d’Industrie de Paris, has protected the term Haute Couture by law, in order to preserve the importance of its meaning and guard its usage. The Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture prescribes guidelines for its members to follow in order to retain membership and thereby, also the usage of the term:

-Design made-to-order for private clients, with one or more fittings.

-Have a workshop (atelier) in Paris that employs at least fifteen people full-time.

-Each season (i.e., twice a year), present a collection to the Paris press, comprising at least thirty-five runs/exits with outfits for both daytime wear and evening wear.

As more and more designers leave behind the art of Haute Couture and begin to focus primarily on RTW, the remaining couturiers such as the House of Dior are few and far between. Considering this, exhibitions such as The Dior Grand Ball, take us back to the days when Haute Couture, though still quite exclusive, was far more prevalent, and occasions where one could wear Haute Couture were also greater in number as compared to today.

The Dior Grand Ball is split into two parts, the first covering early inspirations and the grand balls of the early post-war period. Beginning in 1949, only three years after Christian Dior founded the House of Dior, he attended the Kings and Queens Ball disguised as the King of Animals, the lion, followed by another well-remembered costume – a dandy – which he sported at the 1956 Bal des Artistes (Artists’ Ball).

Most remembered though, is perhaps, Christian Dior’s creation of most costumes and gowns for, what is known as the “party of the century” — the 1951 Masks and Dominos Ball — hosted by Charles de Beistegui at the Palazzo Labia in Venice. The designs from this event have been generously loaned to the exhibition by the Musée des Arts Décoratifs and the Musée Galliera.

This first part of the exhibit also shares Dior’s key inspirations such as the balls he witnessed in his youth at the Granville Casino, the Opera ballets and the Russian ballets discovered after his arrival in Paris, and his friendships with key artists of the time. The Musée National d’Art Moderne has loaned the 1922 painting known to have inspired Dior’s first ever ball gown, Kees Van Dongen‘s Self-Portrait as Neptune. Gowns and dresses created by Marc Bohan who took over the House of Dior as Head Designer after Yves Saint Laurent (Christian Dior’s first successor after his untimely death) left in 1960 are also displayed.

The second half of the exhibit indulges us in the renaissance of balls between the 1980s and today such as the Débutante Ball as well as exquisite evenings put together by the House of Dior. This includes the 2007 Bal des Artistes, organized by current Dior Creative Director John Galliano for which he drew inspiration from artists such as Rembrant van Rijn, Johannes Vermeer and Francisco Goya. Then there was the 1998 Ball in honor of Marquise Luisa Casati which inspired the S/S Dior Haute Couture collection for the same year.

Unforgettable Dior fragrances such as Dune and Poison were also the theme of indulgent soirées which were organized by Parfums Christian Dior. Both events were held at the Château-de Vaux-le-Vicomte in 1991, and 1985 respectively. Also, an evening for the fragrance Midnight Poison was held in 1997 at the Paris Opera. The exhibition displays related pieces to these events as well.

Architect and designer Frédéric Beauclair is responsible for putting together The Grand Dior Ball. It is meant to be a celebration of not only the incomparable contribution of Christian Dior to the world of fashion in general, Haute Couture in particular, and French heritage at large, but it also emphasizes how a man with humble beginnings was able to create a lasting empire by beginning with not much more than a deep passion for art and fashion, coupled with imagination, inspiration and dressmaking skills. It must also be noted that the legendary Yves Saint Laurent obtained his start in dressmaking under the mentorship of Christian Dior himself at the House of Dior.

Continuing to celebrate Dior’s connection and contribution to Haute Couture, on Thursday, June 24th 2010, for one night only, a pop-up exhibition was held at the LVMH headquarters in Paris. Named De La Haute Couture a la Haute Couleur (Haute Couture with High Colour), the exhibition displayed 32 ensembles from more recent Dior Haute Couture (2004-2010), paired with matching lipstick shades from the new Rouge Dior lipstick collection.

The Dior Grand Ball runs from May 13 – September 26 2010 at the Musée Christian Dior in Granville, France.