Dior is absolutely having a moment. Following the launch of the new L’Or de J’Adore fragrance and limited edition piece created by sculptor Jean-Michel Othoniel unveiled at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens during New York Fashion Week, the Maison hosted a star-studded fete to kick off Paris Fashion Week and mark the opening of the Dior J’Adore ! exhibition at Les Beaux-Arts De Paris.
Open from now until October 8th, the dazzling exhibition traces the storied history of Christian Dior’s lifelong adoration of flowers as a perfumer and couturier through the decades up to the present day with renowned perfumer Francis Kurkdjian’s latest composition, L’Or de J’Adore.
Fashion has always been intrinsically tied to perfume, and Christian Dior has played an instrumental role since 1947 when the house became renowned for perfumery with Miss Dior. Past the gold windows and walls outside Les Beaux-Arts De Paris and through a gilded tunnel, the exhibition begins with a brief history of Christian Dior’s obsession with flowers. “Perfume is the indispensable complement to the feminine personality; it is the finishing touch to a dress.”
Guests embark on a sensorial journey to discover the house’s most treasured bouquet, through a room filled with archival pieces and objet d’art, including a push-button scent comparison of the original J’Adore! alongside L’Or de J’Adore. A striking flower-encrusted rotunda in the next room left us agasp before a wall of TV’s broadcasting vintage J’Adore commercials with Charlize Theron and Carmen Kass and a gold waterfall room with the iconic bottle at the centre.
Upstairs, an expansive collage of Dior pieces shines down onto Jean-Michel Othoniel’s exquisite flower case, while artisans meticulously affixed gold wire onto the neck of designer Hervé Van der Staeten’s iconic feminine J’Adore! bottles. Beyond that, a digital installation made with artificial intelligence by artist Refik Anadol transformed data into lyrical multisensory artworks that immersed viewers in the soul of L’Or de J’Adore. A hall of floral studies by Japanese artist Yuriko Takagi leads to a leveled room full of stunning Dior mannequins dressed in iconic haute couture looks that embody the spirit of J’Adore! spanning the decades.
Many celebrities and friends of Dior were in attendance during the party including Charlize Theron who’s been the face of the J’Adore! for over thirty years, as well as Jenna Ortega, Robert Pattinson, Blackpink’s Jisoo, Anya Taylor-Joy, Rachel Zegler, and others.
The exhibition is sure to become an Instagram hot spot over the next few weeks and is open to the public daily at no cost.
Photographs by Adrien Dirand, Courtesy of Dior