Dior exhibition captures couturier’s timeless elegance

Christian Dior’s love affair with Russia began when he was 26. It was during this first trip that he became enchanted with Diagilev’s Ballets Russes and the Constructivist architecture of Rodchenko; he even went on to give Russian names to several of his couture creations.

In 1959, the House of Dior organised its first fashion show in Russia, laying the foundations for a relationship that has lasted to this day. Following in the footsteps of Moscow’s Pushkin Museum, which held a Dior retrospective in 2011, is the Multimedia Art Museum with its new exhibition, Dior Couture: Patrick Demarchelier.

The exhibition chronicles the work of the French fashion photographer from the moment he first discovered the Dior ateliers in 2008. Enthralled by the couturier’s heritage, mastery and tireless inventiveness, Demarchelier spent two years photographing the brand’s collections as well as the models (Natalia Vodianova, Charlize Théron, Gisele Büdchen) around the world. Whether in Shanghai or New York or the glittering Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, Demarchelier has succeeded in capturing the elegance, beauty and femininity of Dior couture.