Melbourne will be the first port of call for an exhibition celebrating 70 years of the world's most prestigious atelier's, the House of Dior. The exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria, one of three major events being held around the world to honour the fashion house, will feature more than 140 garments from Christian Dior Couture.
It will showcase pieces from Christian Dior's iconic Spring 1947 'New Look' collection, magnificent displays of Dior's signature ballgowns and evening dresses, as well as current contemporary designs from the House's first female head designer, Maria Grazia Chiuri.
An archive of photographs, sketches and works from previous designers at the House of Dior, such as Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Bohan, Gianfranco Ferré, John Galliano and Raf Simons, will also be on show.
This is considered the first complete Dior collection to be shown outside of Paris. The NGV said it approached the House of Dior three years ago about staging the exhibition.
Christian Dior Couture chief executive Sidney Toledano said the bonds uniting the fashion house with Australia "run deep and strong, testament to a mutual admiration".
"Christian Dior, who gave each of his designs names, baptised some "Melbourne" or "Sydney", and we have lost count of the number of looks called "Australie"," Mr Toledano said.
Mr Toledano said the exhibition was the biggest Dior retrospective ever held in Australia.
"It focuses on all of the founder's major themes and inspirations from which the Dior codes and universe originate: the silhouette, the flowers, the opulence, the New Look. This will be Dior as if one has been transported to the world of 30 Avenue Montaigne, experiencing the mansion from the ateliers to the salons."
Curator Katie Somerville said a whole section will be devoted to the links between the House of Dior and Australia including the historic Spring 1948 fashion parade at David Jones, Sydney, where House models wore fifty original creations by Christian Dior.
Curator Katie Somerville said the exhibition had been on the NGV's "wishlist" as it was already a collection of couture from the design house.
"The moment is absolutely perfect," Ms Somerville said.
"Fashion is a growing areas for us. Fashion is treated like any other art aspect here at the NGV. This is not an existing exhibition, we've developed and curated it from the start."
Fashion exhibitions have become a mainstay of the gallery's annual program, with attendances at the Jean Paul Gaultier exhibition in 2014-15 reaching 227,000 and currently showing an exhibition from Viktor and Rolf.
The exhibition will run from 27 August to 7 November 2017 and will be opened with an inaugural NGV Gala event, a ticketed, black-tie ball of which the proceeds will go toward supporting the gallery's fashion and textiles collection.
