Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams | OMA - Office for Metropolitan Architecture

Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams is the fifth collaboration between OMA and Dior. Following earlier iterations in Denver, Dallas, and Tokyo, the Seoul exhibition presents nearly 80 years of Dior in a reinvented scenographic narrative highlighting, and merging, the creative history of Dior and cultural heritage of Korea. Staged within the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP), the exhibition’s themes are reinterpreted through a Korean lens. Defining elements of Dior, and Korea – from architecture and objects to materials and techniques – are translated into spatial, formal, material, and color foundations of thematic rooms. Collaborations with Korean artists create a contemporary resonance across art, fashion, and architecture; the past and current. DDP’s Art Hall 1 offers one expansive, column-free volume, unlike the more traditional museum galleries where previous exhibitions have been staged. Taking advantage of the vast openness, the flow and organization of the exhibition presents a unified narrative composition rather than a series of discrete rooms. Drawing from the spatial logic of traditional Korean hanok1, the exhibition orbits around a large central space, “The Garden”, that serves as the madang2, or open-air courtyard. As smaller galleries unfold around “The Garden”, the shape, color, materiality, and texture that govern each room create a rhythmic procession – alternating organic and orthogonal, light and dark, monochrome to colorful, soft and hard.

Korean cultural references are embedded throughout the exhibition as conceptual and structural devices. “The Garden” is imagined as a large-scale, inhabitable moon jar3 – its form a reference to the porcelain vessel created by separately throwing, then joining, hemispherical halves. Inside the 12-meter-tall vessel, a dynamic projected dome meets a textured hanji4 forest landscape by the artist Hyun Joo Kim. Key thematic rooms carry forward this resonance, by decoding objects of cultural significance into spatial and display armatures. “Dior Legacy” traces the timeline of the House’s creative directors with a single, curvilinear ribbon made using the textile technique of jogakbo5 —highlighting individual eras while suggesting their continuous relationship. “Lady Dior” takes cues from traditional red lacquerware cabinetry, using repeated modules to form a sculptural and immersive display.

In other rooms, new display strategies and materiality are introduced to expand the engagement between the viewer and display, and the dialogue between objects themselves. Layered scrims, mirrored louvers, suspended toiles, and metal cables are shaped to offer multiple perspectives of garments, artworks, and artifacts. The resulting transparency, openness, and reflections create unique dialogues between the objects on display, reinforcing the multi-faceted and ever evolving history of Dior.

THEMATIC ROOMS

30 Avenue Montaigne

The beginnings, and legacy, of the House of Dior history are translated into a light, layered gallery. Visitors enter the exhibition at 30 Avenue Montaigne, stepping through its historic façade, reproduced almost to scale. Historic images from the atelier spaces – from the grand staircase, salon, hat atelier, to the atelier – are printed on a transparent scrim, creating a layered set design. Historic photographs on the wall make a visual timeline.

The New Look

Playing on the classic colors and silhouettes of the “New Look”, the room presents black and white garments against a painted gradient backdrop. The room is defined by an 8-meter tall, curved metal structure, bent to create a draped appearance. The curvilinear form recalls the silhouette of the corolle skirt from the original Dior collection. On either end of the room, projections present earlier iterations of the tailleur bar.

Miss Dior

A new addition to Designer of Dreams is “Miss Dior”, conceived for Miss Dior: Stories of a Miss exhibition in Tokyo (2024). A classical dome is constructed from intricately embroidered tapestries by French artist Eva Jospin. For Seoul, a smaller circular room was added to provide an expanded display of artifacts and ephemera surrounding the iconic scent.

Garden

The central space of the exhibition is dedicated to the Garden. The room is an inhabitable moon jar, a traditional Korean vessel containing the whole universe, created by separately throwing, then joining, hemispherical halves, and in this room, a unique garden universe is created that utilizes the expansive height of the existing space. The Garden features a textured hanji paper landscape of trees, flowers, butterflies, and leaves by the Korean artist Hyun Joo Kim.

Colorama

Colorama is reconceptualized as a color wheel, instead of a linear spectrum. Primary colors are organized at the center of the room while secondary shades surround the room. Objects and artifacts are affixed to mirror louvrs within a reflective and transparent setting that allows for the connections between different colors to be seen.

The Dior Ateliers

Typically displayed on walls or shelving, the white toiles of the Dior Atelier are strung from the ceiling to allow garments to be viewed from both the front and back for the first time. Mirrored platforms, walls, and ceilings create an infinite field of toiles.

The Dior Legacy

The timeline of Dior’s creative directors is conceived as a singular, floor-to-ceiling ribbon creating niches for each designer, while emphasizing a collective continuity. This “ribbon” utilizes a traditional Korean technique, jogakbo, where one sheet is created from multiple pieces, colors, and types of textiles.

Lady Dior

Lady Dior features several Korean artist interpretations of the classic Lady Dior bag within a space that references traditional Korean red lacquerware cabinetry in construction and materiality using series of repeated modules to form a three dimensional, immersive experience.

J’Adore

A modern, gold Versailles Hall of Mirrors highlights the J’Adore perfume bottles and garments paired with a larger-than-life screen featuring the latest campaign. The artistic collaboration between the artist Jean-Michel Othoniel and the fragrance is displayed through Othoniel designed perfume bottles and sculpture.

Stars in Dior

Transitioning from J’Adore, Stars in Dior displays garments worn by famous figures, each under a “spotlight” made physical through a continuous field of metal cables. The carefully lit cable surfaces illuminate the room, resulting in an effect that feels present and immaterial at once.

The Dior Ball

The Dior Ball is a surrealist take on the historic staircase of 30 Avenue Montaigne. A grand, theatrical stair is manipulated to create a twisting display with integrated platforms that enable viewers to see garments from multiple perspectives and all garments simultaneously. The sinuous shape of the staircase is in direct dialogue with a work by the artist Soo Sunny Park.

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1 Hanok (한옥) – traditional, wood-framed houses with ceramic roof tiles and regionally varying layouts

2 Madang (마당) – the hanok’s open-air courtyard, which connects its rooms and often serves a social function

3 Moon jar (달항아리) – porcelain vessel from the Joseon period that is made from two halves and evokes the full moon

4 Hanji (한지) – handmade paper made from mulberry bark and known for its strength and durability

5 Jogakbo (조각보) – traditional domestic wrapping cloth made in a patchwork style with scraps of leftover fabric

PROJECT CREDITS

Scenography Design

OMA New York

Partner: Shohei Shigematsu

Associate: Christy Cheng

Project Architect: Caroline Corbett

Team: Baiyang Kong, Timothy Ho, Seong Hyun Lee, Idil Derman, Gianlorenzo Bertolero

Curator

Florence Müller

Contributing Artists

Seon Ghi Bahk, Lee Bul, Ha Chong-Hyun, Kyungwoo Chun, Lee Hun Chung, Gigisue Gimhongsok, René Gruau, Jungpyo Hong, Choi Jeong Hwa, Ran Hwang, Eva Jospin, Hee Won Kim, Hyunjoo Kim, Minjung Kim, Lee Kun-Yong, Woo Kukwon, Oh You Kyeong, Jukhee Kwon, Jia Lee, Jungin Lee, Kwangho Lee, Jay Sae Jung Oh, Jean-Michel Othoniel, Soo Sunny Park, Wonmin Park, Suki Seokyeong, Lee Ufan, Yesum Yoon, Zadie Xa

Hanji Artist

Hyun Joo Kim

Hats and Headpieces

Stephen Jones, Julia Wigley

Production and Construction

KESSON, with the support of Changjo, LS Neotech, Chunghye, Lucea, Woo-young, Intro, Daemyung Glass, Hanil Carpet, Bowoo Engineering

Lighting Design

Lightemotion

Audiovisual Design / Hardware

The Gream, Creum

Art Consulting and Galeries

HM Conseil, Thaddaeus Ropac, Kukje Gallery

Graphic Design

Anamorphée

Textile and Artworks Mounting, Colorama Conception and Production

Agence Alighieri, Solutions Plus Korea, Cardinal Art Solutions, Hypergalaxy

Translation

Mot.tiff inside

Textile and Artworks Mounting, Colorama Conception and Production

Agence Alighieri, Solutions Plus Korea, Cardinal Art Solutions, Hypergalaxy

Art Handling and Transport

André Chenue, Dongbu Art Co., Ltd., DSV Air & Sea, Gamblin, L&B Fine Art, LP ART, Masterpiece Intl, PRODEX Aerospace Solutions

Metal Fabrication

O2 Metal

Wood Fabrication

Yulsan D&C

Fabrics / Jogakbo

Easement

Exhibition Prints

PICTO

Signage

Andwe

Exhibition Operations

AMHERST Inc.

Venue

Seoul Design Foundation, Team at Dongdaemun Design Plaza