Dior Impressions

The aesthetic sensibilities that aligned Christian Dior and the French Impressionist movement, detailed in this rather intriguing coffee table volume put together by the curator (Florence Müller) of the recent exhibition on the subject, formed partly thanks to simple geography. The acclaimed designer grew up in Granville, Normandy, a region favoured by the 19th Century painters who so memorably evoked the changing light of the countryside and shorelines with their small, thin brush strokes.

Despite the vastly differing cloths on which they captured these “impressions”, the two parties shared common themes in their work such as nature, light, colur, and the notion of movement. In the book, some carefully juxtaposed paintings and frocks reveal to a quite extraordinary degree how, even up to the modern day House of Dior, the art of yore has inspired haute couture.

Dior Impressions, Edited by Florence Müller. Published by Rizzoli. 34 euros

Originally published in the October-November 2013 issue of France Today