A pyramidal staircase and delicate washi accents function within the Christian Dior: Designer of Goals exhibition created by Shohei Shigematsu to discover connections between the style home and Japan.
Held on the Museum of Modern Artwork Tokyo, the present is an in depth Dior retrospective that has beforehand been exhibited in London, Denver and New York.
Architect Shigematsu, a associate at Dutch studio OMA, created numerous new units for the Tokyo version unfold throughout two flooring and 15 rooms inside the museum.
The present intends to spotlight Dior’s relationship with Japanese tradition over its 76-year historical past, together with model collaborations and clothes that draw upon conventional silhouettes, based on OMA.
One room known as Dior and Japan is characterised by a meandering floor-to-ceiling pathway constructed from wooden and clad in Awagami – a sort of inkjet washi paper sourced from the nation’s Tokushima prefecture.
Mannequins wearing numerous Japan-informed Dior clothes have been positioned atop the winding construction, which takes cues from the ethereal floats that parade by way of the Aomori area in the course of the Nebuta competition.
“We wished to create an immersive expertise the place guests may additionally enjoy discovering the Home of Dior’s roots and inspirations from Japan,” Shigematsu instructed Dezeen.
One other set up often known as The Dior Ball options an outsized pyramidal staircase that takes cues from the “lengthy, processional stairs” that result in conventional shrines, which is amplified by a mirrored roof that displays the construction.
Clothed in 35 items of Dior haute-couture, mannequins are inserted into the staircase’s deep-set platforms and illuminated by altering animations.
“We wished to create a stage for storytelling that feels very tectonic and fashionable however grounded within the restrained and disciplined magnificence genuine to Japanese tradition,” defined Shigematsu.
“The scenography merges Japanese conventional areas, supplies, and strategies, with very grand, up to date shapes and architectural types.”
Elsewhere, Japanese Kiri-e artist Ayumi Shibata created an immersive “backyard” of paper flowers as an homage to the style home’s 1947 fragrance Miss Dior and Corolle, the model’s first assortment launched the identical 12 months.
Among the many exhibition’s many different rooms, units from earlier editions of the present have been reinstated – together with a colour-coded, encyclopedia-style cluster of 359 Dior objects set in opposition to a curved wall.
Shigematsu mirrored on the significance of scenography when curating a trend exhibition.
“The style exhibition as a typology is comparatively new however has shortly change into the blockbuster exhibits for museums and establishments,” stated the architect. “That speaks to the potential of trend to attract an especially numerous viewers, in addition to its narrative potential.”
“I consider a trend exhibition is inherently a multi-faceted communication device. It needs to disclose historical past, course of, approach, materiality, motion and relevance to up to date contexts – extra so than say, a portray present would,” he added.
“We checked out Japan by way of the lens of Dior and appeared on the world by way of the lens of Japan’s historical past, tradition, and trend.”
Shigematsu additionally created the exhibition design for the Dior retrospective when it travelled to Dallas, Texas, by utilizing an array of colors and supplies.
The pictures is by Daici Ano, courtesy of Dior.
Christian Dior: Designer of Goals is on show on the Museum of Modern Artwork Tokyo from 21 December 2022 to twenty-eight Might 2023. See Dezeen Occasions Information for an up-to-date checklist of structure and design occasions happening around the globe.
