Design

Haute couture captivates Korea: Inside Dior’s Designer of Dreams Exhibition

The exhibition reinterprets the history of Dior through a Korean lens, integrating local cultural references, materials, and spatial strategies.

Por: Alejandro Carrillo
OMA has unveiled its latest exhibition design for
OMA has unveiled its latest exhibition design for "Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams" in Seoul, South Korea / Photo via Dior

OMA has unveiled its latest exhibition design for “Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams” in Seoul, South Korea. 

 

Held at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP), the exhibition marks the fifth collaboration between OMA and Dior. Previous designs include “Dior: From Paris to the World” at the Denver Art Museum (2018) and Dallas Museum of Art (2019), as well as “Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams” at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (2022). The Seoul exhibition presents over 80 years of Dior’s creative history and the cultural heritage of Korea.

The exhibition reinterprets the history of Dior through a Korean lens, integrating local cultural references, materials, and spatial strategies / Photo via Dior
The exhibition reinterprets the history of Dior through a Korean lens, integrating local cultural references, materials, and spatial strategies / Photo via Dior

The exhibition reinterprets the history of Dior through a Korean lens, integrating local cultural references, materials, and spatial strategies. Unlike previous iterations held in traditional museum galleries, the Seoul edition takes advantage of DDP’s Art Hall 1, an expansive, column-free volume, to present a unified, continuous exhibition narrative rather than a sequence of discrete rooms.

 

The spatial organization draws inspiration from the traditional Korean hanok, centering the exhibition around “The Garden”, a large open space that functions as the madang, or courtyard, with smaller galleries unfolding around it.

New materialities and display strategies introduced in other rooms aim to enhance the relationship between the viewer, object, and space / Photo via Dior
New materialities and display strategies introduced in other rooms aim to enhance the relationship between the viewer, object, and space / Photo via Dior

Couture and heritage

The design of “The Garden” is conceived as a large-scale, inhabitable moon jar, referencing the porcelain vessel traditionally created by separately throwing and joining hemispherical halves. Inside the 12-meter-tall vessel, a dynamic projected dome meets a textured hanji forest landscape created by the artist Hyun Joo Kim.

 

Thematic rooms continue this dialogue by translating culturally significant Korean objects and techniques into spatial elements. “Dior Legacy” traces the timeline of the House’s creative directors through a single curving ribbon, crafted using the jogakbo textile technique, suggesting both distinction and continuity across eras. In the “Lady Dior” room, traditional red lacquerware cabinetry informs a modular and sculptural display system.

Other notable projects include the renovation of the Gallery of the Kings at the Museo Egizio in Turin and the ongoing renovation of the heritage-listed Perth Concert Hall in Australia / Photo via Dior
Other notable projects include the renovation of the Gallery of the Kings at the Museo Egizio in Turin and the ongoing renovation of the heritage-listed Perth Concert Hall in Australia / Photo via Dior

New materialities and display strategies introduced in other rooms aim to enhance the relationship between the viewer, object, and space. Layered scrims, mirrored louvers, suspended toiles, and metal cables introduce visual permeability and reflection, offering multiple perspectives of garments, artworks, and artifacts.

Immersive elegance

These elements contribute to an immersive experience, emphasizing the evolving and multifaceted history of Dior.

 

OMA’s recent work includes the design for the New Museum’s expansion in New York, which will double the gallery space, improve circulation alongside the existing SANAA-designed flagship. In Jeddah, the firm designed the scenography for the Islamic Arts Biennale, crafting a spatial narrative that enhances the visitor experience; the exhibition runs until May 25, 2025.

Other notable projects include the renovation of the Gallery of the Kings at the Museo Egizio in Turin and the ongoing renovation of the heritage-listed Perth Concert Hall in Australia.

Key information

  • Where is the "Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams" exhibition currently being held? At Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) in Seoul, South Korea.
  • What is the central feature of the exhibition's spatial design? A large open space called "The Garden," inspired by the traditional Korean hanok's madang.
  • Which traditional Korean craft technique is used in the "Dior Legacy" room? The jogakbo textile technique.
  • Who created the textured hanji forest landscape inside "The Garden"? Artist Hyun Joo Kim.

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