Christian in Wonderland

Dior's flagship store in Paris is now a temple of lifestyle and a museum in one: the "Galerie Dior" presents the 75-year history of the house as a walk-in fairytale world. Mademoiselle Lili is delighted.

The newly renovated Maison Dior at the historic 30 Avenue Montaigne address is considered something of a pinnacle of the brave new world of shopping. Flagship store would be too banal a word: it's a universe in itself. At Dior you can now also eat, sleep, dream, shop and become more beautiful. And form.

A few steps away, Dior has allowed itself its own fashion museum, the largest in-house museum in the world at 2,000 square meters. Stimulated by the immense success of the exhibition "Christian Dior - Tailor of Dreams", which broke all visitor records in Paris, London, Shanghai and most recently in Brooklyn, Dior's CEO Pietro Beccari wanted a gallery in which the history of the house could be experienced permanently. And who could stage this better than Nathalie Crinière, who was already responsible for the successful traveling exhibition?

Even the start is spectacular: as you climb up, you look on both sides into glass showcases that are stocked with thousands of well-known Dior objects, miniatures from the 3D printer in all the color shades of a rainbow: from clothes, perfume bottles to handbags, shoes and accessories. You feel as if you are entering the interior of a gigantic kaleidoscope, with every turn of the stairs over four floors new perspectives open up - very instagrammable.

When you arrive at the top, you stand in front of two objects that are typical of Dior: His first “New Look” from 1947, the narrow-waisted bar jacket worn over a wide, calf-length skirt with a petticoat. And next to it: The replica of a rusted metal star that Christian Dior found on the street in 1946 - and which he interpreted as a sign of fate to found his fashion house. After all, his superstitions were at least as legendary as his fashion.

Each of the 13 exhibition rooms tells a different aspect of his fashion and immerses the visitor in an immersive atmosphere in which the latest video and animation techniques are used: With birdsong and the sound of waves, you walk through a dark, cool fairytale garden in which the most famous haute couture -robes with floral motifs are on display: from Dior itself through its six successors to the current designer Maria Grazia Chiuri.

In the all-white room dedicated to atelier work, you can see the shadows of virtual feet tripping on the ceiling: in fact, the real haute couture atelier is right above. In the large ballroom with the festive robes, the sun even rises and sets and constellations are written in the sky. Fashion history becomes a dance of the senses here. The Dior gallery compensates all those who do not receive any of the coveted show invitations at this fashion week: Here you can experience fashion up close and always in the first row.