UBS House of Craft Exhibition Highlights the Very Best of Dior

From Christian Dior to Gianfranco Ferré and Maria Grazia Chiuri, Dior’s legacy is one of the utmost beauty and refinement. Now, UBS House of Craft has partnered with the atelier to connect the designs of all seven creative directors in a single show unlike ever before. Curated by iconic fashion stylist and editor Carine Roitfeld and photographed by Brigitte Niedermair, the exhibit examines the intricate and historic craft of couture through a uniquely modern lens.

The project offered Roitfeld personal access to the archives, where she explored eight decades of history and hand-selected iconic looks—ranging from an eclectic spring 2015 couture minidress by Raf Simons to a extraordinarily chic crocodile jacket from fall 1960 couture by Yves Saint Laurent. “It was a lot of work, but a lot of fun. And because we know the house very well, both of us, we have a nexus to everything we want,” Roitfeld tells ELLE.

Lady Dior bag in black leather from spring 1996 by Gianfranco Ferré.

The curated archive was then photographed by Niedermair, a longtime collaborator of the house (who has also shot for ELLE.) Through her lens, each piece transcends its original era and is brought into the editorial light of the present day. Adds Roitfeld, “We learned so many things. And even though we are very respectful, we still had some freedom. It was very important for Brigitte and me to have some freedom for the picture.”

Throughout the exhibit, a select few of the actual garments were juxtaposed in front of Niedermair’s modern editorial images. Observing these rare archive items, like the crown from John Galliano’s fall 2004 couture collection and the original 1947 Bar ensemble, up close felt like paying tribute to invaluable pieces of fashion history.

Silhouette of Christian Dior’s iconic Bar ensemble from the spring 1947 couture collection.

“Above all, this alliance is a celebration of excellence, haute couture elegance, and the exceptional savoir-faire deployed by Dior since the triumph of the New Look in 1947,” said Olivier Bialobos, UBS’s deputy managing director in charge of global communication and image, in a statement. “This artistic dialogue is a tribute to audacity and virtuoso artisanship, at the convergence of past, present, and future, in a perpetually shifting cultural landscape.”

UBS House of Craft x Dior is open and free to the public from June 6-8 at 28 Pine Street in New York’s Financial District.