Starting on 5 May 2016, the Christian Dior Museum, located in the couturier’s childhood home in Granville, Normandy, is hosting a new exhibition Women in Dior – Sublime Elegance of a Portrait. The exhibition will be accompanied by a book, Women in Dior – Portraits of Elegance, published by Rizzoli. Both the exhibition and book pay homage to some of the illustrious women who have worn the house of Dior’s fabulous creations.

Dior,Christian Dior Museum, Granville, Normandy, Women in Dior – Sublime Elegance of a Portrait, Rizzoli, Florence Müller,
Geneviève Page wears a Christian Dior dress during the French Film Festival in London in 1957. © Keystone-France.

The clothes a woman wears communicate a lot about her personality, unspoken clues to who she is for the world to decipher. The array of designs created by Christian Dior, and then by his successors, has consistently enchanted a vast number of women who find what they need to express their individuality in the beautifully crafted lines. Ever since 1947, this synergy has produced a long line of elegantly-clad women who have a close relationship with their Dior outfits, unfailing witnesses to every highlight of their lives.

Dior,Christian Dior Museum, Granville, Normandy, Women in Dior – Sublime Elegance of a Portrait, Rizzoli, Florence Müller,
Lady Diana arrives in Buenos Aires, November 23, 1995.
She carries the Dior handbag that she will eventually popularize, which will become the famous Lady Dior. © Tim Graham/Getty Images.
Dior,Christian Dior Museum, Granville, Normandy, Women in Dior – Sublime Elegance of a Portrait, Rizzoli, Florence Müller,
Portrait of Mitzah Bricard, circa 1950.

The Women in Dior – Sublime Elegance of a Portrait exhibition, orchestrated by fashion historian and curator Florence Müller, takes visitors on a journey through a collection of dresses, photographs, paintings, drawings and letters that conjure up these women’s style and personality. Müller’s choice and presentation of designs illustrate the key events of lives lived in Dior.

Dior,Christian Dior Museum, Granville, Normandy, Women in Dior – Sublime Elegance of a Portrait, Rizzoli, Florence Müller,
La princesse Margaret d’Angleterre accompagnee de Sir Oliver Harvey lors d’un voyage a Paris saluee par la garde republicaine lors de son arrivee au bal du Cercle Interallie au benefice du British Hertford Hospital le 21 novembre 1951 (elle porte le diademe en diamants Cartier que portera KateMiddleton pour son mariage en -2011) — Princess Margaret with Sir Oliver Harvey in Paris arriving at a charity ball November 21, 1951 (diamond tiara by Cartier worn by KateMiddleton for her wedding in -2011)
Dior,Christian Dior Museum, Granville, Normandy, Women in Dior – Sublime Elegance of a Portrait, Rizzoli, Florence Müller,
Rihanna chose a design from the Autumn-Winter 2015 haute couture collection to attend the Spring-Summer 2016 ready-to-wear collection’s runway show in Paris, October 2, 2015. © Getty Images for Dior.

The Women in Dior are HRH Princess Grace of Monaco, the Duchess of Windsor, Diana, Princess of Wales, Countess de Ribes, Leonor Fini, Olivia de Havilland, Jackie Kennedy, Patricia López-Willshaw, Francine Weisweiller, Marilyn Monroe, Charlize Theron, Elizabeth Taylor, Edmonde Charles-Roux, Zizi Jeanmaire, Mitzah Bricard, Suzanne Luling, Carmen Colle, Marlene Dietrich, Jennifer Lawrence, Natalie Portman, Marion Cotillard, Emilia Clarke and Rihanna.

Photo: The Courtesy of Christian Dior