Christian Dior exhibition on show in Chengdu

Following shows at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris, Victoria & Albert Museum in London and the Long Museum West Bund in Shanghai, the exhibition Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams is running at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chengdu, through Sept 7. Featuring a new graphic narrative by Nathalie Crinière, this event celebrates over 70 years of creative passion.

The visit starts with a virtual trip to the fashion label's home at 30 Avenue Montaigne, where the Bar Suit – the New Look manifesto, designed by Christian Dior for his first collection in 1947 – is exhibited alongside a contemporary version by Maria Grazia Chiuri. Each one of the House's artistic directors' haute couture designs is unveiled in turn throughout the retrospective, as singular reflections of their stylistic signature and of the history of Dior.

In the heart of an Enchanted Garden2, evoking Dior's fascination for flowers, the Miss Dior dress, designed in 1949 by the founding couturier, and its reinterpretation by Raf Simons for the Dior autumn-winter 2012-2013 haute couture collection, are displayed alongside the iconic fragrance of the same name.

World cultures also are honored, starting with China, where the House has forged powerful ties. Designed by Maria Grazia Chiuri, flamboyant red pieces with captivating names, such as Ange Rouge and Amour Soleil, pay tribute to this symbolic color so dear to Christian Dior, who saw it as the "the color of life". Punctuating this stopover, a work by the Chinese artist Xu Bing renders sublime the title of the exhibition like calligraphy.

After Chengdu, the exhibition will move to the Brooklyn Museum in New York on Sept 10.