Dior en Roses

The Dior en Roses exhibit is dedicated to the most prestigious flower of all, the rose, a favorite of Christian Dior, and takes place at his childhood home, Les Rhumbs villa in Granville. The rose inspired the woman-flower silhouette, first dreamed up in the Granville garden before coming to life in 1947 during the House's first fashion show. It was also a central element in the composition of several perfumes created, starting in 1947 and including the first one, Miss Dior.

Rose is as much a flower as it is a color. Such is the color of the family home’s "soft pink rendering" according to the couturier's words, a reminder of the delicate color of the flowers that he would smell and admire in the rose garden dreamed of by his mother, Madeleine. It is the color of childhood, that of Good Little Girls, a famous novel by the Countess of Ségur, published in the Bibliothèque Rose (the Pink Library) and that inspired in 1939 a dress by Christian Dior, then a pattern maker for the couturier Robert Piguet. 

^{Headdress made of silk wildflowers, adorned with bees, from the Spring-Summer 2017 Haute Couture collection. Christian Dior by Maria Grazia Chiuri, in collaboration with Stephen Jones. Photograph by Tierney Gearon. © Tierney Gearon.}

The mention of childhood and the Granville garden precedes the exploration of Christian Dior's 'other' gardens, inspired by the first one: that of Milly-la-Forêt, south of Paris, then the one in Montauroux in Provence, and the last, which enabled the couturier to "find in another climate the safe garden that protected my childhood." The rose is present, as it will be in the creations of his artist and poet friends: Raoul Dufy, Salvador Dalí, Leonor Fini, Christian Bérard and Jean Cocteau will also adopt this flower and color, which are ideal for innumerable variations in the worlds of poetry, art and fashion, all inextricably linked together.

From pale pink to red pink, sometimes linked to the world of little girls, sometimes to that of a femme fatale, pink is tirelessly used by Christian Dior and his successors for the Haute Couture pieces and accessories chosen for the exhibit: jewelry, scarves, bags, shoes… From one era and designer to the next, the variations are numerous: Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Bohan, Gianfranco Ferré, John Galliano, Raf Simons previously, Maria Grazia Chiuri presently, all skillfully reimagine them in their own era.

Finally, the exhibit reveals the effect of family history on the couturier's path, highlighting the exceptional personality of his darling little sister, Catherine, who made flowers her occupation and who was both a support and inspiration.

Giving pride to one of the most beautiful flowers and a color with the most varied tones, the exhibit offers an original look at Christian Dior creations by interposed rose(s). Haute couture designs and accessories, works of art and decorative art objects offer infinite variations, thanks to exceptional loans from Christian Dior Couture, Christian Dior Parfums, Parisian museums: the Museum of Decorative Arts, the Pompidou Center - National Modern Art Museum…, as well as Norman Museums: the André Malraux Museum of the Havre (MUMA), the Avranches Museum, the Granville Museums… and private loans.

Inspired by the House’s collections adorned with roses, a "Jardin de Granville" bed of roses, created by the André Eve company and offered by Christian Dior Parfums, unfolds on the main lawn, visible from the villa's winter garden.