Last weekend, Dior opened one of the world’s first physical fashion exhibitions in the post-COVID world. Described as “an odyssey from yesterday to today" and "a prodigious journey through the world and dreams” of the brand, the thorough and opulent show can be seen at the Long Museum in the West Bund district of Shanghai. The opening drew an impressive attendee list that included influencers Angelababy, Zhao Liying, and Wang Junkai from TFBoys as well as many top KOLs and brand ambassadors. Distilling over 70 years of Dior history, the show features 275 haute couture dresses and curated ephemera alongside installations by Chinese artists such as Xu Bing, Gao Weigang, and Liang Yuanwei.
The Jing Take
Fashion curation is relatively new to China, and Dior was among the first brands to leverage this platform. While many fashion events have been postponed or digitized, this exhibition shows the house has faith in the China market’s continuing rebound. Now, as much of the world contemplates moving forward with greater restrictions, Dior’s physical exhibition launch event was full of life, attracting over 1,000 guests (all without masks or the need for social distancing).
The show has already been well-received online. Despite not opening to the public until tomorrow, the Dior dream exhibition hashtag has already received 530 million reads and 4.9 million posts. Netizens are calling it “a clash of culture between Dior and China” and “a French and Chinese collaboration.” One industry insider noted that “it will be weekend-long queues for an exhibition of such importance as this.” Usually, these blockbuster fashion exhibitions have multi-million dollar budgets, and though their future is up in the air, Dior has shown that anything is possible in China.
The Jing Take reports on a piece of the leading news and presents our editorial team’s analysis of the key implications for the luxury industry. In the recurring column, we analyze everything from product drops and mergers to heated debate sprouting on Chinese social media.