Dior: 30 Avenue Montaigne

“It had to be 30 Avenue Montaigne. I was going to settle here and nowhere else!” 

- Christian Dior.

After many years of watching and wondering about this legendary fashion venue, I finally got myself organised and paid the fabled fashion house headquarters a visit on my last Parisian trip. It was mid-to-late November and the boutique's windows were all dressed for Christmas featuring fantastical miniature winter dioramas based around Dior dress and accessory designs. Some were quite surreal such as the scale model of a sweeping staircase inside one of Dior's iconic Bar jackets. Other windows showcased the couture that the brand does so superbly. The attention to detail and painstaking work of the 'petites mains' or embroiderers whose intricate work takes hundreds of hours and yet is rarely celebrated was put centre stage. I took some photographs of the detail and degree that their work involves on one particular outfit (photos 9-14 below). Quite spectacular I'm sure you'll agree. The actual venue itself at 30 Avenue Montaigne, "a refuge of the marvellous" to quote Dior himself, is a massive complex boasting a boutique, a gallery, restaurant and patisserie, haute couture salons, jewellers, spa and a garden appropriately given the title the Kingdom of Dreams. Dior established his couture house here in 1946, originally a Hôtel Particulier, or grand townhouse it grew as the business expanded to absorb several neighbouring buildings to become the fashion behemoth it is today. Since debuting his 1947 fashion show there which featured the famous "New Look" silhouette, all of Dior's successors — Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Bohan, Gianfranco Ferré, John Galliano, Raf Simons and Maria Grazia Chiuri — have designed their collections out of this address, located in the heart of Paris’ affluent Triangle d’Or (Golden Triangle). Indeed, so much of Dior's legacy is tied to 30 Avenue Montaigne. Most of that history is captured in the store's adjoining Galerie Dior, a permanent exhibition space — the largest devoted to fashion in Paris — that showcases the brand's heritage across 21,500 square feet. The recent renovation of the space was carried out by architect Peter Marino. It was this Galerie Dior that I was here to explore. Inside you are met by an immaculate white space with a sweeping spiral staircase surrounded by a rainbow of accessories and miniature dresses in all vivid shades of the spectrum which ascend with the staircase to the top of the building and the start of exhibition on the history of the brand. The staircase is quite breath taking and at the top the displays start with Dior's iconic Bar jacket for his New Look, this is a precursor to a host of other fabulous designer gowns created by Dior himself and the designers named above who followed him which unfold as you make your way through the gorgeous gallery spaces all decorated in a series of different spectacular thematic tableaux. The various tableaux which were a template for the Dior exhibitions at Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris and the V&A, London (here), are a backdrop and context in which to present Dior's dresses and the inspirations behind them. As the visitor meanders through the various galleries they are led into different sections devoted to the garden and the incorporation of flowers into Dior's designs, as well as their importance in the production of Dior's line of perfumes, the influence of the zodiac on Dior's fashion designs, the accessories such as bags and shoes and hats which complete an outfit, and the white toiles which are the mock ups in a cheaper fabric created from the dress patterns before the final garment is cut. There is also a space on the trail with a glass floor where you can see into the office below where the great man himself worked creating his fashion designs. Whilst I was there I discovered a special temporary exhibition of photography by renowned photographer Peter Lindbergh (1944-2019), detailing the history of his relationship with the fashion house and certain models through a series of photographs a few of which can be seen below. 30 Avenue Montaigne is an ode to aspiration, luxury and conspicuous consumption. The building was obviously a very special place for Christian Dior, and customers able to afford to buy into the brand, as well as those who can only afford to visit La Galerie Dior are all made to feel special on a visit by the welcoming staff, atmosphere and elegance created by the custodians of this fabled building. 

"It was in 1946 that I moved into 30 Avenue Montaigne. This delightful house then had enough elegant rooms and salons, sufficient nooks and crannies to contain all eighty-five of us." - Christian Dior, 1958

Dior: 30 Avenue Montaigne

75008

Paris,

France