24. June 2024
Photo: Neoplus Sixten Inc.
Miss Dior: Stories of a Miss opened recently at Roppongi Museum in Tokyo. Designed by OMA partner Shohei Shigematsu, the exhibition unfolds through seven rooms, each revealing a different facet of the Miss Dior parfum. Japan-Architects got a preview of this latest stop for the touring exhibition.
Working with fashion houses is nothing new to Shohei Shigematsu. When World-Architects first stopped by the OMA New York office, back in 2013, the studio was working on, among other things, projects for Coach in New York and Tokyo. Three years later, when we stopped by their office again, the studio had just completed the Manus x Machina exhibition for the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. And then in 2023 the penthouse addition OMA designed for Tiffany's in Midtown Manhattan opened. Needless to say, Shigematsu is adept at designing environments aligned with the creations of fashion houses, in this case something immaterial: the scent of a parfum. Stories of a Miss is the fourth collaboration between OMA and the House of Dior.
“Fields of Flowers” (Photo: Neoplus Sixten Inc.)
“Stories of a Miss” (Photo: Neoplus Sixten Inc.)
Miss Dior debuted in 1946 and is therefore one of the icons of the House of Dior. The exhibition celebrates the release of the latest parfum in the Miss Dior series but also looks at the various inspirations and collaborations responsible for its cultural impact. So the contents of the exhibition include perfume bottles and ephemera related to Miss Dior but also couture and ready-to-wear fashions, artworks, classic illustrations, and other artifacts, with the goal of telling many overlapping stories.
“Miss Dior: The Birth of Ready-to-Wear” (Photo: Neoplus Sixten Inc.)
“To reflect the diverse contents, auras, and narratives, we designed the exhibition to reveal new perspectives of timeless iconographies and draw new threads across distinct themes. Significant motifs and inspirations are translated into surreal environments transporting viewers into the world of Miss Dior.”
“Dior Illustrated” (Photo: Neoplus Sixten Inc.)
There are seven such “surreal environments,” a handful of them shown here. Among these are “Fields of Flowers,” which introduces viewers to the floral scents of the latest Miss Dior parfum via drapes of undulating fabric layered into a curved petal form; “Stories of a Miss,” a tunnel formed by an unfurling of the signature bow that adorns the neck of the perfume bottle; “Miss Dior: The Birth of Ready-to-Wear,” featuring fashions from the eponymous 1967 collection; “Dior Illustrated,” a display of works by René Gruau and Mats Gustafson, respectively the first and current House of Dior illustrators; and “The Miss Dior Dream,” displaying couture dresses worn by the face of Miss Dior, Nathalie Portman, alongside artworks and perfume bottles.
“The Miss Dior Dream” (Photo: Neoplus Sixten Inc.)
Visit Japan-Architects to see many more photographs of Miss Dior: Stories of a Miss, on display at Roppongi Museum until July 15, 2024.
