Throughout the month of September, the French luxury fashion house Dior will be hosting a major exhibition at the Guardian Art Centre in Beijing. Titled “L’Or de Dior”, the exhibition is dedicated to the colour of gold that’s ever-present in its fashion and beauty products. The Dior Beijing exhibition is a celebration of artistic creations and the 60th anniversary of China-France relations.
The immersive exhibition is divided into 15 areas with 14 themes. The display ranges over 70 years, from garments from the “New Look” period under founder Christian Dior to the Maison’s latest fragrance creation “L’Or de J’Adore” under the Perfume Creation Director Francis Kurkdjan, with a campaign video featuring Rhianna. It also hosts 54 pieces of art from 49 global artists, including 15 pieces from 14 Chinese artists, using the colour gold as a thread connecting the chapters.
The opening event on 1 September saw many celebrities in attendance, including global brand ambassador Dilraba Dilmurat and ambassadors Liu Yuxin, Yu Shi and Karry Wang, among others. The event was livestreamed on 8 social and video platforms and amassed 71.28 million views across platforms in just 2 hours. On Weibo, China’s Twitter equivalent, the topic “L’Or de Dior” (#迪奥倾世之金展览#) reached number 6 on the Hot Search list with a whopping 270 million views.
Major exhibitions that combine art and fashion have been a popular choice for luxury brands to both raise awareness and build a brand image as elevated and artistic. But Dior has been working with Chinese art and artists for 16 years, starting with its 2008 exhibition in partnership with UCCA called “Christian Dior and Chinese Artists”. The latest exhibition in Beijing, aided by the star-studded opening event, has certainly captured the interest of Chinese netizens. By promoting a fragrance, the comparatively accessible arm of a luxury brand, the awareness in this case, can likely translate to desirability and sales for Dior.
