Dior in Bloom

Dior in Bloom

Celebrating Dior's floral inspirations in fashion and perfume, this unique volume features a portfolio of rose portraits by acclaimed fashion photographer Nick Knight. For Christian Dior, perfume was "a door opening into a hidden world." His first, Miss Dior, inspired by the lush gardens of his childhood home in Normandy, forged an inextricable link between his fashion and fragrance creations. Other scents were inspired by evenings in southern France, lit with fireflies and scented with jasmine. The rose bowers of his family home in Granville; his old mill country house; and the Château de la Colle Noire near Grasse--where jasmine, tuberose, and May roses reign supreme and are still cultivated--inspired Dior's most memorable creations. Flowers were also at the heart of Dior's fashion, from the women-flowers that inspired the late 1940s New Look to the swishing, blossom-like ball gowns embroidered with lavish floral motifs. They have inspired all of the designers who followed him at the House of Dior, from Yves Saint Laurent to John Galliano, and Raf Simons to Maria Grazia Chiuri. This extraordinary volume blooms with color and inspiration, and includes rose portraits by Nick Knight, previously unpublished archival documents, exquisite details of embroidery and fabrics, perfumes, fashion sketches, and sublime fashion photographs. "You can read all the life of Christian Dior through this angle and understand all his work. Dior and flowers make a kind of love story..." — WWD/BEAUTY INC  "The House of Dior returns with a magical tome filled with the florals that has inspired the brand's fashion and fragrance creations. Anticipate lots of sketches and striking fashion photographs." —MARIE CLAIRE.COM  "This volume blooms with color, celebrating Christian Dior’s love affair with flowers. A portfolio of rose portraits by acclaimed fashion photographer Nick Knight and testimonies by the five artistic directors of the House of Dior illustrate the inextricable link between florals and the brand’s fashion and fragrance creations." — COTTAGES & GARDENS  "...the newest book about the legendary couture genius Christian Dior, explores in detail the designer’s passion for flowers and gardens." —FLOWER MAGAZINE A passion for gardens and flowers was at the very heart of Christian Dior's work and a perpetual source of his creative inspiration. To the designer, the scent of a perfume offered "a door opening into a hidden world." His first perfume, Miss Dior, inspired by the lush gardens of his childhood home in Normandy, forged an inextricable link between his creations in fashion and fragrance. Other perfumes were inspired by evenings at his home in southern France, lit by fireflies and scented with jasmine. Throughout his life, Christian Dior transformed his gardens into verdant refuges and places of creative rejuvenation, where his spirit remains present today. Gardens and flowers also infused Dior's work in fashion, from the "flower-women" that inspired the New Look of the late 1940s and 1950s to the swishing, blossom-like ball gowns embroidered with lavish floral motifs he designed throughout his career. Dior's reinvention of floral inspirations, which were infused into his resolutely forward-looking creations, shaped each of the designers who followed him at the House of Dior, from Yves Saint Laurent to Marc Bohan, Gianfranco Ferré, John Galliano, Raf Simons, and Maria Grazia Chiuri. This elegant volume brings together a series of original essays by fashion historians, writers, and a landscape architect that examine the designer's lifelong dialogue with nature. In addition, interviews with creative directors Maria Grazia Chiuri, François Demachy, Victoire de Castellane, Kim Jones, and Peter Philips assess how Christian Dior's love of flowers has fashioned their own artistic vision. A portfolio of rose portraits by Nick Knight, along with unpublished archival documents featuring Christian Dior and his gardens, exquisite details of embroidery and fabrics, perfumes, fashion sketches, and photographs, tell a fresh and captivating story of the House of Dior. NICK KNIGHT is an influential and visionary photographer known for his numerous contributions to Vogue magazine and his advertising campaigns for fashion houses. He creates some of the most beautiful images of flowers in contemporary art. JUSTINE PICARDIE is an acclaimed novelist, fashion writer, and biographer. She is the former editor in chief of Harper's Bazaar and Town & Country. NAOMI SACHS, a therapeutic landscape designer, has published and lectured internationally on the positive role of nature in human health and well-being. JÉRÔME HANOVER is a fashion and luxury journalist. He is a frequent contributor to Vogue Paris and Le Figaro. ALAIN STELLA has written numerous books, including Jacques Garcia : Twenty Years of Passion, Château du Champ de Bataille, Historic Houses of Paris, and French Wine Châteaux : Distinctive Vintages and Their Estates, all publi