Dior celebrates Hollywood movie culture at LACMA, Los Angeles

Since the Balenciaga show held in late July 2023, the small Los Angeles fashion scene seems to be starving for action. “No shows to sink our teeth into,” admit the editors, some of whom have been forced to return to New York. Nor is there a Fashion Week show on the schedule. After a laborious second edition, the communications agency in charge of the event threw in the towel a few months ago, and the event vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

Six months after the opening of its House of Dior Beverly Hills- a four-story building designed by Peter Marino on Rodeo Drive- the French luxury house, part of the LVMH group, returned to captivate fashionistas by hosting its 2027 Cruise collection show at LACMA, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. An iconic cultural landmark in Los Angeles, the museum unveiled, just a few days ago, its brand-new Geffen Galleries housed within architect Peter Zumthor’s monumental, all-concrete building.

Running alongside artist Chris Burden’s iconic Urban Light installation, the entrance to the show first led through a photo call, crackling with flashes each time a star passed by. Past the army of Men in Black, young boys in grey Dior uniforms then guided guests to the main set- a sort of film noir scene, Hitchcockian in its edges, dark in its corners, mystical in its Parisian-style lamplit alleys, and even fantastical, inhabited by a few vintage Cadillacs.

“The House has a longstanding relationship with cinema,” explained Jonathan Anderson. Christian Dior designed the costumes for the 1942 film ‘Le Lit à Colonnes’ and dressed Marlene Dietrich, Ava Gardner, Grace Kelly, Sophia Loren, Marilyn… He was later nominated for an Oscar in 1955 for his designs for the film ‘Terminus.’ And as early as 1950, two films he collaborated on were released- ‘Les Enfants Terribles’ and ‘Le Grand Alibi.’

Placed on each seat, the show’s script announced the entrance of the artists, actors, and directors into the space. And to the hypnotic and fascinating music of John Lee Hooker, the first model took to the stage, wearing a semi-transparent buttercup-yellow dress adorned with rosettes. This was followed by an orange dress, evoking a field of poppies for Jonathan Anderson, and several cocktail dresses with straps embellished with floral motifs and shapes.

The feminine silhouettes were followed by masculine looks- rock-inspired and elegant- in double-breasted blazers and lamé trousers. Most of them wore crowns by Philippe Treacy, “designs that reinterpret a technique created for Isabella Blow’s ‘Blow’ hat,” explained the milliner, “where feathers form letters and typographic motifs with rigorous precision, while remaining light and lively.” 

Other models wore shirts created in collaboration with artist Ed Ruscha, whose work seems to have fascinated Anderson. A grey wool flannel Dior coat appeared streaked with the geometric shadows of Venetian blinds. A red gathered dress was held at the waist by a giant flower… And for each look, the accessories played with giant boa scarves, clutch bags, and crescent-shaped bags, and shoes adorned with flowers and sequins.

Set to a hit track by the electronic group Air, the final looks revealed tunic and draped dresses in bold, vibrant colours. Anderson came out to greet his audience. French journalists, surprised by the chilly evening temperatures in Los Angeles, decided to turn the Dior plaid into a scarf, as the crowd made its way through the new galleries of LACMA, getting lost while following the architectural curves of the monument.

The star of the evening, who arrived just a minute before the show began, singer Sabrina Carpenter had to head to the botched photo call after the show, triggering a small crowd surge in the process. Miley Cyrus, Anya Taylor-Joy, actor Macaulay Culkin, Oscar-winning actress Mikey Madison, and legend Al Pacino rounded out the star-studded line-up put together by the fashion house.

Before heading home, the crowd made their way to the museum galleries, open for browsing until midnight. On the walkway crossing Wilshire Boulevard, one can see the brilliant billboard for the Cruise campaign, featuring actress Alison Oliver as a guest star. A fun and glamorous nod to film noir and the thrillers that Hollywood was the first to invent.

“Christian Dior understood how important the notion of ‘dream’ was after the war, as a means of escape,” continued Jonathan Anderson. He explored the theme in haute couture; his surrealist friends were themselves obsessed with dreams, and of course Hollywood embodies the dream factory.