Global Vision

The V&A’s latest show-stopping exhibition glories in Christian Dior’s worldwide understanding of style.

- Justine Picardie

When Christian Dior launched his couture house in February 1947, he was hailed as the saviour of Parisian couture, thereby restoring a French sense of identity that had been damaged by World War II. Yet, one of the many revelations of the V&A’s brilliant new Dior exhibition is how swiftly the designer’s vision travelled from Paris to the rest of the world. True, dozens of international clients flocked to the house of Dior at 30 Avenue Montaigne: film stars, heiresses, society swans and princesses. But Christian Dior himself was quick to realise that his business needed to expand beyond the couture salon; and he embarked upon a whirlwind tour of publicity and presentations.