My first Magazine UFASHON-MAG-Haute-Couture-FW-2017-2018 | страница 42

Cantabile with ribbons as corolla. His vision of elegance was manifested not only by the genero-
sity of silk, taffeta, tulle, but also of ornaments, accessories and unreleased forms. He wanted to
offer to his clients, to women in general an optimistic future, a rich future. If not money, at least
dreams. The pieces of the exhibition interact with photographs of the big ones that captured him:
sometimes they overlap intelligently and innovatively, sometimes they complement each other,
others illustrate each other. Man Ray, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Brassaï are just some of the big
names who took the snapshots of Dior fashion house. But that is not all. No, because Christian
Dior, couturier de rêve, does not end with Monsieur's stage release. It tells about his legacy, his
vital breath, his feminine ideal collected and transmitted by his six heirs. Each with own sensi-
tivity has been able to develop a stylistic grammar that is faithful to the initial momentum: each
one has helped define Christian Dior’s identity in his own relationship with time and contem-
poraneity. Here the young Yves Saint Laurent succeeded Marc Bohan’s rationalism; the arrival
of the sparkling invention of Gianfranco Ferrè was opposed by the “punk” John Galliano with
his theatrical world, which the minimalist Raf Simons took over and finally left the repertoire of
the artistic direction to the first woman of the series, Maria Grazia Chiuri, and her “Girl Power”.
For each of these epigones or followers to be shared, the exhibition displays about fifteen pieces,
a video, an interview. Finally, final bouquet, the “Great Ball” fireworks, underneath the central
nave of the festive parade museum. Here, times, themes, inspirations are mixed to give light to a
delight of charm and elegance. A collection of some pieces worn by Lady Diana, Liz Taylor and
Grace of Monaco, Ava Gardner and Jackie Kennedy, Sophia Loren and Natalie Portman. What
a show. What a heartbeat. One word of advice before embarking on this journey in the world of
beauty without name and without adjectives: it is necessary, indeed, vital to have a fan. It is not
only the emotion that makes body temperature rise, it is the heat, tropical sultriness that is felt in
the room and liquefies, literally, anyone who enters it. But, my God, how sweet it is to die like that.
Francesco Rapazzini
DIOR