Photo: Australian Arts Review

Attracting fashion lovers from across Victoria and beyond, the world premiere fashion exhibition The House of Dior: Seventy Years of Haute Couture was the NGV’s most successful ticketed fashion exhibition to date.

Almost 20 per cent of the 276,034 visitors were from interstate and almost six per cent were from overseas.

The Melbourne-exclusive exhibition celebrated seventy years since the release of Dior’s debut spring collection ‘New Look’ in 1947 and featured over 140 iconic garments designed between 1947 and 2017.

The exhibition was an international collaboration between the NGV and the House of Dior in Paris, and was supported by the Andrews Labor Government.

It included specially commissioned pieces by designers Raf Simons and Maria Grazia Chiuri, live demonstrations from Christian Dior Couture’s artisans and a spectacular replica of the House’s iconic staircase.

The success of The House of Dior follows the record breaking 2017 Melbourne Winter Masterpieces exhibition Van Gogh and the Seasons, which was the most popular exhibition in the NGV’s history and delivered $55.8 million for the state’s economy.

The NGV is now preparing for its most ambitious undertaking to date, the NGV Triennial, which will feature the work of more than 100 artists and designers from 32 countries. The exhibition will open in mid-December.