Dior Gallery : a haute couture dream !

Since the creation of the fashion house that bears his name in 1947, Christian Dior has revolutionized the world of fashion. Success is evident with the “Corolle” lines (the couturier draws inspiration from the curves of flowers to design his dresses) and the “En 8” line (the silhouette, with its marked waist and rounded shapes, recalls the shape of the number 8) nicknamed “New Look” following the sentence later uttered by Carmel Snow, the Harper’s Bazaar editor : « It’s quite a revolution, dear Christian ! Your dresses are wonderful, they have such a new look ! ».

The silhouette it offers is of a revolutionary design: fitted waist, high and round chest, narrow shoulders, covered legs 40 cm above the ground. The couturier puts elegance and femininity back in the foreground, far from the precepts imposed during the world war. In the aftermath of the Occupation, Christian Dior gave couture its share of dreams and gave women back the taste for pleasing and arousing desire. He “builds” his dresses like an architect. Luxury returns to center stage after a long period of insecurity and anguish, “a return to becoming and pretty, of which women had been deprived for many ages”.

After World War II, “France was very poor, so there wasn’t a lot of money to promote French haute couture. Under the occupation, fashion remained marked by fabric shortages. Christian Dior created his collection, with a profusion of luxurious and abundant materials, in reaction to this imposed austerity : “We had barely emerged from a poor, parsimonious era, obsessed with tickets and textile points. So my dream naturally took the form of a reaction against this poverty.”

After his sudden disappearance in 1957, several designers succeeded one another at the head of the house, taking up the codes of Christian Dior while adding their personal touch. From Yves Saint-Laurent, a young man crowned with his success in the International Wool Secretariat competition, in which Karl Lagerfeld also distinguished himself, to Maria Grazia Chiuri via John Galiano and Raf Simons, the creations of these great Couture names are magnificently represented in the halls of the Galerie Dior which has just opened its doors in the 8th arrondissement of the capital. The spectacular staging will take you on a journey into the magical world of the Dior house.

Emmanuelle Fournier, your licensed guide invites you to discover the Dior Gallery, which also exhibits drawings by the couturier and moving archives retracing the creation of his fashion house by Christian Dior, whose family history is also evoked through photos.

Her emblematic outfits, such as the famous Bar suit, are present as well as the perfumes, including the famous Miss Dior or J’adore. The latter is the subject of a special room in which you can admire precious bottles and sparkling gilded dresses, like the one worn by Charlize Theron in famous advertising clips.

Emmanuelle Fournier will guide you through the rooms that illustrate the different worlds of the Dior house, the garden, travel, art, in particular surrealism, of which Christian Dior, a gallerist for a time, frequented the most famous representatives. The outfits presented testify to the incessant dialogue between the founder of the house and the designers who succeeded him.

The private mansion that hosts the gallery also reveals the office of Christian Dior. A few drawings are placed under the benevolent eye of an illustration by Christian Bérard, who has regularly sketched the couturier’s outfits in fashion magazines.

Finally, a shop is reconstructed, above which (visitors walk on glass cobblestones) your guide, Emmanuelle Fournier, will explain the development of the luxury industry for which haute couture remains a beacon as evidenced by a room reminiscent of a couture show.

  Duration of the tour :

30 minutes to 2 hours

Maximum group size :

From 1 to 6 people

Private tour price :

From 60 to 120 euros

Entrance tickets price :

12 euros per adult

Are you visiting Paris or Île-de-France and want to learn a little more about the French heritage linked to these places ? We suggest you try the adventure of the cultural guided tour with the accompaniment of a guide-speaker. Whether you are passionate about ceramics, fashion, architecture or design or looking to discover the secrets of the capital, a unique and personalized journey awaits you ! What is a guide-speaker ? The guide-speaker is the grouping of several cultural activities : guide-interpreter, speaker, accompanist, ambassador and mediator. She thus puts her skills at the service of the valorization of the patrimony. A state-qualified guide, who holds a business card, a guide-speaker is responsible for providing guided tours to show the French heritage (cultural, historical, architectural, etc.) to anyone looking to cultivate themselves, foreigners as French visitors. Indeed, guiding is a profession ! History, history of art… this heritage lover has a broad culture to transmit to you, her job being above all a passionate activity that extends her knowledge from day to day. Her goal ? To share and inform by making history with a big «H» a story that you will enjoy listening to. This professional will be in charge of scrupulously preparing its museum or neighborhood visits by sometimes offering a guided tour with theme (history of ceramics, fashion and fashion designers, architecture, design, known historical figure, etc.) or by completely personalizing the excursion to the group she accompanies. Visiting Paris differently : a cultural guided tour. That it is good to discover a city by letting yourself be carried or by simply visiting the must-see places that we have always seen on television and in photos.

Louvre Museum, Orsay Museum, Museum of Modern Art, Picasso Museum, Palace of Versailles and Gardens, the guide-speaker will accompany you in the various Parisian and Parisian museums. Eiffel Tower, Montmartre, Arc de Triomphe, the sights to discover in Paris are not lacking. However, some visitors may want to go further, whether for a very first visit or coming back in the city of lights. A region rich in history, Île-de-France is home to one of the most densely populated cities in terms of heritage : architecture, history, history of art, ceramics, fashion, design, etc. There is so much to know and discover in Paris beyond what you imagine ! Alone, with family, friends or even colleagues, a guided tour is suitable for all groups to try to reveal the secrets of Paris and its region. Some professionals can even integrate entertainment and other fun activities into your excursion to spice up the day. Personalized experience indoors or outdoors, you will have the opportunity to satisfy your curiosity and your thirst for knowledge without having to plan anything : follow the guide !

Discover the history of ceramics, fashion, architecture or design in Île-de-France with a guide-speaker. By staying in Paris itself, a guide-lecturer will be able to rely on the superb collections of Decorative Arts, the Louvre Museum, the Musée National des Arts Asiatiques Guimet or the Petit Palais to tell you the story of ceramics as you may have never heard. Then, the unmissable stop will obviously be the Museum of European and Asian Ceramics in Sèvres (Manufacture and National Museum). Your guide can also take you on a journey through the history of fashion through the Galliera Museum, the Saint-Laurent Museum but also the museums of modern art, Orsay, Picasso and the Louvre.

Take a guided tour of Yves Saint-Laurent as part of the 60th anniversary of his fashion house’s first fashion show. Your guide will also accompany you to the Museum of Decorative Arts to introduce you to the history of design. La Défense, Paris Rive Gauche, the guide-speaker will also make you explore the architecture of different Parisian districts but also famous architects, such as Le Corbusier, Mallet-Stevens or the Perret brothers. You will see first-hand the principles of modernist architecture as defined by Le Corbusier, notably in the Roche house and in the constructions of the 14th and 16th districts around the Jasmin metro. Let yourself be guided by the knowledge and passion of a guide-speaker during a tailor-made guided tour to learn to discover Paris and its region in a memorable way guaranteed !