Almost seventy years later, the house of Dior pays homage to that ongoing creative and cultural exchange, staging the runway show of the 2017 Cruise Collection in the heart of the English countryside.
Today, the birthplace of Winston Churchill, the seat of the dukes of Marlborough, and twice the backdrop for Dior haute couture presentations, in 1954 and 1958, each to a royal audience, the Blenheim Place is steeped in history to present this collection.
The English country life is expressed via the tradition of the hunt – its reflection in the decorative arts, rather than its reality.
The conversation between France and England echoes a dialogue between the past and the present, creative exchanges between the two countries. In the eighteenth century, France adopted English fashions in a craze dubbed Anglomania; in the twentieth, the exchange reversed, and French fashions were exported for fevered consumption in Great Britain,
Monsieur Dior frequently turned to the UK for inspiration: his own suits were tailored on Savile Row, and he used the masculinity of fabrics like English wools, Scottish tweeds and Prince of Wales check to underscore the femininity of his creations.
Male meeting female, France joining England.
