V&A Museum extended Christian Dior exhibition due to unprecedented demand, London.

The V&A Museum extended “Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams” London exhibition. Tickets for the entire period sold out three weeks after opening on 2nd February 2019. The significant Dior exhibition was at first programmed to end on 14th July 2019, but it has been extended until Sunday, 1st September 2019.

Within 19 days of opening, and due to strong pre-sales, the Dior exhibition sold out all remaining pre-bookable tickets. At present, 121,566 visitors have experienced the exhibition since it opened.

Throughout the extended run, the V&A will release additional exhibition tickets on the 15th of each month for the month ahead. A limited number of tickets are available to purchase daily at 10.00 from the V&A’s Grand Entrance on a first-come, first-served basis, while V&A members go free with no need to book.

Tristram Hunt, Director of the V&A Museum, London, is delighted: “In 1947, Christian Dior changed the face of fashion, creating a lasting legacy that continues to inspire today. The V&A has a history of staging revelatory fashion exhibitions, and there is always a hugely engaged audience for these. We knew that Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams would be popular, but we have been overwhelmed by the phenomenal visitor response to-date. I would like to thank our visitors who have gone to such great lengths to see this extraordinary exhibition so far.”

The V&A Museum’s “Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams” is the most comprehensive exhibition ever staged in the UK on the House of Dior and the museum’s biggest fashion exhibition since “Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty” (2015). From 1947 to the present day, “Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams” outlines the history and impact of one of the 20th century’s most important couturiers, and the six artistic directors who have succeeded him, to explore the enduring influence of the fashion house.

The opening of the exhibition in late January was celebrated with special guests including Gemma Arterton, Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, Olga Kurylenko, Jenna Coleman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Noomi Rapace, Bianca Jagger, Eva Herzigova and Edward Enninful, demonstrating the impact of Christian Dior and the House he created over 70 years ago today.

The exhibition is based on “Christian Dior: Couturier du Rêve”, organised by the Musée des Arts Decoratifs, Paris. The London exhibition was reinvented for the V&A Museum, with over 60 per cent of the objects unique to this show, and a brand-new section exploring the designer’s fascination with British culture. The exhibition brings to the V&A an in-depth and wide-ranging study of the unique Haute Couture garments to investigate the total design vision of Christian Dior and the craftsmanship of the ateliers from 1947 to today.

Drawn from the wide Dior Archives, the exhibition presents over 500 objects, with over 200 rare Haute Couture garments shown alongside accessories, fashion photography, film, vintage perfume, original make-up, illustrations, magazines, and Christian Dior’s personal possessions. It also showcases highlights from the V&A’s world-class Couture collections, including the iconic “Bar Suit”, gifted to the museum by the House of Dior in 1960 with the help of Cecil Beaton. The exhibition also spotlights on the key creative partners of the House from the past 70 years, including Roger Vivier, Stephen Jones, René Gruau, Serge Lutens and Swarovski, Christian Dior’s first choice for crystals to embellish his creations.

The exhibition has been curated for the V&A by Oriole Cullen and is accompanied by a new V&A publication. The exhibition designer is Nathalie Crinière.

The exhibition “Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams” now runs at the V&A Museum, London, until 1 September 2019.