France's Christian Dior museum puts 30 years of treasures on show

The Christian Dior museum in the Normandy region of northern France opened a new exhibition Saturday entitled "Treasures of the Collection, 30 Years of Acquisitions," showcasing a collection built up over three decades and exploring the personal and professional history of the legendary designer. The show features haute couture dresses, accessories and archive documents, and runs through January 6, 2019.

Twenty years after Musée Christian Dior was founded in 1997 in the designer's childhood home in Granville, the museum is offering visitors a unique journey through its collection, telling the legendary designer's story through a series of objects and haute couture creations.

The show spans all of the exhibition spaces of Villa Les Rhumbs, the house in which Christian Dior grew up and which inspired him in many ways. The exhibition showcases 30 years of acquisitions for the museum's collection, taking visitors behind the scenes of the fashion house and into the personal and creative history of Monsieur Christian Dior.

Over the house's three floors, the exhibition features no less than 60 haute couture dresses, as well as accessories -- including bags, shoes, gloves and scarves -- plus personal possessions and archive documents. Highlights include one of Christian Dior's diaries, one of his personal watches and his lucky star. 

Miniature reproductions of 29 haute couture dresses, created by the Dior ateliers, also offer an overview of the fashion house's emblematic creations from 1947 to the present day. In this respect, the show pays homage to the creative directors who succeeded Christian Dior at the helm of the label, from Yves Saint Laurent to Maria Grazia Chiuri, Raf Simons and John Galliano.

"Les Trésors de la collection, 30 ans d'acquisitions" [Treasures of the Collection, 30 Years of Acquisitions] runs April 7, 2018, to January 6, 2019, at Musée Christian Dior, Granville, France. Entry costs €8.