I remember the publicity earlier this year around the Dior exhibition at the V&A. I said to myself – yes I must go. Time passed by and I then heard there was going to be an extension to the end of August and I said to myself – yes I must go. Well I did! I had to become a member of the V&A to be able to get to the exhibition as the tickets had been sold out for weeks but that is a good thing as it has been on my “to do” list to join. I only had my iPhone with me but I was impressed with the results I was able to achieve. I have a new preset within my mobile Adobe lightroom on my iPhone which enables me to edit my images on the go – it has been quite fun playing with different looks on these images without having to download to my desktop.

Some of you may know that I was a dressmaker years ago. I made wedding dresses, ballgowns etc. I first came across the name Dior while studying Fashion and Fabrics at A level back in the 80’s. We studied the history of fashion and my absolute favourite eras were the 40’s & 50’s.

I was a given a book on Dior by my friends for my 18th birthday which is still with me after all the changes I have had in my life so to see the dresses before me was such a thrill!

The exhibition featured more than 200 items which was the biggest Dior show ever held in the UK and included work by every designer in the label’s 71 year history. Here is a list of the creative directors

• Christian Dior – 1946–1957
• Yves Saint Laurent – 1957–1960
• Marc Bohan – 1960–1989
• Gianfranco Ferré – 1989–1997
• John Galliano – 1997–2011
• Bill Gaytten – 2011–2012
• Raf Simons – 2012–2015
• Serge Ruffieux & Lucie Meier 2015–2016
• Maria Grazia Chiuri (women’s) – 2016–present
• Kim Jones (men’s) – 2018–present

 

Everything in the show was haute couture ie every garment was made by hand – just think of all the man hours involved in the beading, every seam line and lining.

There was a room dedicated to the “toile” which is a where a prototype of the design is made in cheap fabric to check the design on a mannequin. Adjustments can then be made before the pattern can be remade for the main fabric.

Going along to the exhibition was a bit of a girly dream for me with sequins, underskirts, embroidered silks and lavish fabrics. This experience has certainly made me want to make beautiful dresses again and my trusty Bernina machine has been reconditioned ready and waiting for me to start again. Of course I now have my V&A card so lovely events and exhibitions to attend in the future.