Miss Dior: Stories of a Miss is the second exhibition designed and presented by Shohei Shigematsu for Dior after the spectacular exhibition "Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams" presented just over a year ago.
“Conceiving a space to experience something as immaterial as a scent was an interesting challenge, but Miss Dior represents a core identity of the Maison shaped by a multitude of stories behind the fragrance. To reflect the diverse contents, auras, and narratives, we designed the exhibition to reveal new perspectives of timeless iconographies and draw new threads across distinct themes. Significant motifs and inspirations are translated into surreal environments transporting viewers into the world of Miss Dior.”
Shohei Shigematsu, Partner, OMA.
Each environment is designed to reflect the multiplicity of the Miss Dior aura. Reverent history and fresh youthfulness are conveyed with exaggerated scales and vibrant colours. Elegant elements and strong shapes are conveyed through a diversity of materials and geometries.
“Miss Dior: Stories of a Miss”. Miss Dior: Stories of a Miss, by OMA. Photograph by Daici Ano. Image courtesy of Dior.
“Miss Dior: Stories of a Miss” is like an “Avant Goût” (or sampler) of the exhibition to come. Miss Dior artefacts, reproductions, and objects are mounted in bespoke cases and displayed on a gallery wall. Each case follows the exact shape of the object it contains, emphasizing the unique forms, highlighting the small scale of particular artefacts and projecting their distinct shapes beyond their physical size. Opposite the wall is an oversized reproduction of the latest Miss Dior perfume bottle, rotating 360 degrees and visible from outside of the museum.
“Miss Dior by Eva Jospin”. Miss Dior: Stories of a Miss, by OMA. Photograph by Daici Ano. Image courtesy of Dior.
“Miss Dior by Eva Jospin” is a classical domed room, inspired by architectures like the Villa Giulia in Rome, constructed from intricately embroidered tapestries by Jospin, a French artist and long-time friend of the House. In contrast to the whimsically large bottle in the previous room, here, a single vitrine at the centre of the room draws attention to the intricate and precious special edition of the perfume designed by Jospin.
“Fields of Flowers”. Miss Dior: Stories of a Miss, by OMA. Photograph by Daici Ano. Image courtesy of Dior.
“Fields of Flowers” introduces viewers to the five floral scents of the latest Miss Dior Parfum. Within the room, a single flower is abstracted and enlarged with drapes of undulating fabric layered into a curved form reminiscent of petaled floral shapes, or the meticulous construction of a couture skirt. Five individual niches are carved out of the “solid” room. Within each niche, a human-scale atomizer in the shape of a flower bud allows visitors to smell a single immersive landscape floral note ingredient of the perfume.
“Stories of a Miss” takes the Miss Dior signature bow, which adorns the neck of the perfume bottle, and unravels it across the linear room. The ribbon unfurls in a form reminiscent of the amphora shape of the original Miss Dior bottle, creating a continuous path that carves through cases related to the history of Miss Dior. Double-sided vitrines allow viewers to see objects from both front and back, facilitating new relationships, associations, and narrative frameworks across multiple themes.
“Miss Dior: The Birth of Ready-to-Wear” features the eponymous collection launched in 1967, the House of Dior’s first ready-to-wear line. The original illustrated graphic logo of the line is reproduced at various scales across a pixelated, geometric form in saturated colours. As a complement to the curved forms of previous rooms, the room takes the form of a circle and dome and creates an orthogonal, rectilinear shape with a central topography of plinths.
“Dior Illustrated” is a display of works by René Gruau and Mats Gustafson, the first and the current House of Dior’s illustrators, respectively. The delicate works are recreated in life-size prints, many for the first time, providing a close-up look at the handiwork and details. Prints by each artist are mounted on opposite walls lining a sinuous path. Inspired by the softness and weight of floor-to-ceiling curtains and drapery of both Gruau and Christian Dior’s studios, the walls are reimagined as “soft” undulating curtains but made of fibreglass to achieve a unique form.
The Miss Dior Dream”. Miss Dior: Stories of a Miss, by OMA. Photograph by Daici Ano. Image courtesy of Dior.
“The Miss Dior Dream” is an excursion through an undulating landscape of key Miss Dior couture garments paired with artworks and specially designed perfume bottles. Each garment is displayed on an elevated washi-paper mound that enables eye-level views of one-of-a-kind pieces. Metallic walls and floors introduce a more contemporary material and create subtle reflections of displays. Together with a ceiling of washi-paper “clouds, the immersive landscape becomes a dreamlike environment of romance, art, and nature.
