Landmark Show Settings
In 1950, the Strand's iconic Savoy Hotel was the venue of the house's first ever London show, held in aid of the Museum of Costume (now Bath's Fashion Museum) and which - in order to accommodate the 1600 guests clamouring to see his designs - was presented in three different sittings.
Four years later, Blenheim Palace - the Woodstock World Heritage Site famous for being the birthplace of Winston Churchill and home to the Duke of Marlborough - hosted the French fashion house when the designer himself was invited by the then-Duchess of Marlborough to stage a show to raise money for the Red Cross. He presented his couture collection to around 2000 guests at the imposing and storied Oxfordshire palace with Princess Margaret sitting front row.
Read more: Every Hidden Symbol To Look Out For In The V&A's Dior Exhibition
Blenheim has welcomed the house of Dior twice more since. Princess Margaret attended the label's second show at the stately home too, in 1958, the year after the designer's untimely death and with his former apprentice Yves Saint Laurent at the helm. A return was then made by the brand to Woodstock in 2016 to present its cruise collection, with guests whisked to the venue through the English countryside that Dior was so fond of on the chartered "Orient Express". Almost 60 years after its first show there, models walked the same runway route - through the palace's grand saloon, library and drawing rooms.
Royal Stamp Of Approval
Dior first met Princess Margaret - who would quickly become his most high-profile customer - when she visited Paris couturiers in 1949 (she put in an order for a white strapless tulle dress). The next year, the Savoy show was famously followed by a secret trip to the French embassy in London, where the Queen Mother (then the Queen) and the younger princess awaited to privately view the couture collection. It cemented a relationship of royal appreciation. Perhaps most notably, Margaret chose to wear a Dior design for her 21st birthday celebration and portrait, captured by Cecil Beaton. The off-the-shoulder chiffon confection (which she apparently later called her "favourite dress of all") is a centrepiece of the V&A exhibition, loaned to the gallery from the Museum of London and featured next to Beaton's photograph.
The regard was mutually felt - Dior described Margaret as a "real fairytale princess: delicate, graceful, exquisite" - but she wasn't his only royal fan. It is said that the Queen Mother instructed a break from protocol in order to fully admire his designs, telling the models to turn their backs on her.
High Society Fans
Princess Margaret was far from the designer's only famous follower. He counted English It-girls of the era amongst his clientele. Aristocratic author Nancy Mitford - one of the "Bright Young People" of London's roaring '20s - was living in Paris by the time Dior showed his post-war, nipped-in "New Look" collection and became one of its first buyers, detailing her amour with his clothes in letters on several occasions. Ballet dancer Margot Fonteyn was also a dedicated devotee - she frequently stepped out in his designs and the couturier made the custom wedding gown she wore for her 1955 nuptials.
Food And Fashion
Among the capital's locations frequented by Monsieur Dior was Savile Row - which he is said to have favoured for suits - suggesting that the admiration felt by many for his fashion on this side of the Channel was reciprocated. His taste for all things British didn't stop at the clothes either. "I dote on Yorkshire pudding, mince pies, stuffed chicken and, above all, I worship the breakfast of tea, porridge, eggs and bacon," he once wrote.
Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams runs until July 14 2019 in the V&A’s Sainsbury Gallery
