Christian Dior – 70 years of brilliance is celebrated in Melbourne

If you are heading to Melbourne, don’t forget to see the Dior exhibition. It’s well worth it. Remember to book tickets as queuing is no fun!

As well as enjoying the beautiful fashion it was interesting to learn about Dior’s relatively short life as a designer. After his premature death six creative directors have headed the house. They have all left their mark.

Dior founded his couture at the age of 41 in 1947. He reinvigorated French fashion after the war transforming how women dressed. During his 10-year tenure Dior designed 22 collections each numbering well over 150 pieces.

He did this by introducing a silhouette consisting of rounded shoulders, exaggerated padded hips and full skirts with an abundance of fabric.

He died in 1957. Yves Saint Laurent was thrown in the deep end. At the age of 21 years he was already working as an assistant in the house, but it was not what he was expecting at this young age.

Yves Saint Laurent was born in Algeria in 1936. He designed these short evening dresses in autumn-winter 1959.

Over the next five decades designers Marc Bohan, Gianfranco Ferre, John Galliano and Raf Simons have had time at the helm of the Dior Haute Couture. Most recently, designer Maria Grazia Chiuri became the seventh designer in January 2017. She is the first female creative director of the house.