The Bar suit, icon of the New Look (1947)
“Being a Parisian is not being born in Paris, but being reborn there” once said the filmmaker Sacha Guitry . And he was right. We have all been reborn there at some time, in a thousand different ways, for a thousand different reasons; keeping in our memory a thousand different memories.
That kiss under the Eiffel Tower, the sound of an accordion at the Pompidou exit, that storm that caught you walking on the banks of the Seine and left you soaked to the bone, the five euros you paid for a café au lait in front of the Opera, that afternoon you got lost –literally– in the Louvre and passed five times in front of the Venus de Milo, the street singer who made you cry with emotion on the steps of the Sacre Coeur, that sunset from the roof of the apartment you rented in the heart of Le Marais...
"You can never go wrong if you take nature as an example" Christian Dior
Hemingway himself confessed that in Paris he had been very poor, but also very happy –see his classic Paris was a party. A party where you fall in love with each and every one of the topics –from the emblematic places to the gastronomy through the attire, the history and the culture–. The Champs-Elysées, the Moulin Rouge, Notre Dame, the freshly made baguettes, the cheese, the coq au vin, Voltaire, Napoleon, Marie Antoinette, the Marseillaise, Honoré de Balzac, Jean Cocteau, Monet, the berets, the neckerchiefs , the dancers, the petit robe noire, Edith Piaf, Catherine Deneuve, Brigitte Bardot, Alain Delon, Je t'aime moi non plus, Quelqu'n m'a dit, Vincent Cassel, Audrey Tautou, Marion Cotillard...
We can seize any excuse to go back to Paris . Today we propose one with its own name: Christian Dior. Two words that constitute one of the quintessential French icons. Until January 7, **the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris** celebrates the 70th anniversary of the French Maison by hosting the exhibition 'Christian Dior: couturier du reve'.
"Dressing is a way of life" Yves Saint Lauren
A journey through the universe of the firm that invites you to delve into the universe of its founder and the designers who succeeded him: Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Bohan, Gianfranco Ferré, John Galliano, Raf Simons and the first woman to take over the baton of the house, Maria Grazia Chiuri. More than 300 haute couture pieces that reconstruct Dior's history from 1947 to the present, as well as photographs, illustrations, letters, manuscripts and of course bags, hats, jewellery, perfumes and shoes.
"The joy of dressing is an art" John Galliano
The name of the exhibition could not better express what it feels like to walk through the doors of the Museum of Decorative Arts: to enter a dream. From the mythical New Look born with the Corolle line to the gardens in the form of a dress by Raf Simons, from the sumptuous theatricality of Galliano to the romanticism and feminist messages of Maria Grazia Chiuri.
"You have to make sure there are sublime moments every day" Raf Simons
A PLUS
And to complete this jour de Dior, stop by the Galeries Lafayette , which until October 10, pay homage to the Maison through eleven windows and a collection of exclusive products created especially to commemorate these seventy years of dreams –jewels, bags, watches, candles...–. Don't miss the 'I Feel blue' exhibition, at the Galerie des Galeries, where you can discover twelve blue silhouettes from the Maison's archives that testify to Monsieur Dior's particular affection for the color of the kings of France: the Doris navy blue wool coat, dating from 1947, the Billet Doux afternoon dress, in blue silk damask with rose motifs and many other treasures.
The city of love, of lights, of fashion, of crêpes au chocolat, of the Seine and of what everyone invents to come back again and again. As Ratatouille would say, is there a better place to dream than Paris?
"There is no beauty without happiness" Christian Dior