The Somerset House in London staged an exciting exhibition to honour one of the world’s most celebrated creative talents in fashion design. Hosted in conjunction with the French fashion house Dior, the exhibition, entitled “Dior Illustrated: Rene Gruau and the Line of Beauty”, was held to honour renowned illustrator Rene Gruau (1909-2004), who created some of the most iconic fashion and beauty images of the 20th century.
With over 40 original illustrations for Christian Dior Parfums, exquisite vintage perfume bottles, sketches, magazines and poster adverts. The show also features a selection of Dior Haute Couture dresses personally selected by John Galliano, including a dress designed by Galliano himself in homage to Gruau.
What I loved the most was Rene Gruau’s bold lines and fluid style, that captured the energy and elegance of the brand. His illustrations also tell of a special understanding Gruau had of Christian Dior himself, borne of a close friendship between the two men.
Gruau influenced the graphic style of a whole generation of fashion illustrators and this exhibition features specially commissioned pieces from five of the UK’s most cutting-edge illustrators _ Jasper Goodall, Daisy Fletcher, Erin Petson, Richard Kilroy and Sarah Arnett.
Responding to the themes in the exhibition and reinterpreting them within a modern day context, each illustrator created works and limited edition prints for sale inspired by Gruau’s work for Dior.
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