Dior

From runways to perfumes: “Dior in Bloom” reads like a passionate love story between Dior and flowers.

“Dior in Bloom” book recounts the French luxury Maison’s passionate love of flowers.

From couture blossoms to wildflowers, flowers inspired the creations of Christian Dior and have marked the history of the Maison. A new book titled “Dior in Bloom” published by Flammarion reads like a passionate love story between Dior and flowers, from runways to perfumes. This extraordinary volume blooms with color and inspiration, and includes rose portraits by Nick Knight, previously unpublished archival documents, exquisite details of embroidery and fabrics, perfumes, fashion sketches, and sublime fashion photographs.

Throughout his life, Christian Dior transformed his gardens into verdant refuges and places of creative rejuvenation, where his spirit remains present today.

The pages of “Dior in Bloom” (Flammarion) take readers on a fabulously floral journey.

“After woman, flowers are the most lovely thing God has given the world,” said Christian Dior, who found an infinite source of inspiration in flowers. Gardens always offered him a special refuge at all his homes, from Granville in Normandy to Château de la Colle Noire in Provence.

“A passion for gardens and flowers was at the very heart of Christian Dior’s work and a perpetual source of his creative inspiration. To the designer, the scent of a perfume offered “a door opening into a hidden world.” His first perfume, Miss Dior, inspired by the lush gardens of his childhood home in Normandy, forged an inextricable link between his creations in fashion and fragrance. Other perfumes were inspired by evenings at his home in southern France, lit by fireflies and scented with jasmine,” wrote Flammarion.

This passion has been perpetuated by the Maison’s creative talents. For Parfums Christian Dior Perfumer-Creator François Demachy, flowers reveal their secrets in the Maison’s fabulously successful fragrances.

Maria Grazia Chiuri, Artistic Director for Dior women’s collections, celebrates flowers as allies of determined femininity, and Kim Jones, Artistic Director for men’s collections, invites them into a playful male-female game with couture sensitivity. Victoire de Castellane, Artistic Director of Dior jewelry, imagines fascinating blooms of precious stones that appear more real than nature itself. And Peter Philips, Creative and Image Director of Dior Makeup, delves into dazzling floral palettes for his makeup creations.

Five richly illustrated chapters explore the captivating power of flowers.

“Sublime Beauty, Nick Knight’s Roses” is a portfolio of photos revealing his passion for roses, still life and Flemish painting. He also shot the book’s cover photo.

In “Dior and the Symbolism of Flowers, Eight Storied Blossoms”, writer Alain Stella reveals the secrets of the couturier’s favorite flowers, including lily of the valley.

Landscape architect and therapist Naomi A. Sachs analyzes the beneficial influence of nature on Monsieur Dior’s personality in “Christian Dior’s Gardens Real and Imagined”.

Jérôme Hanover, a connoisseur of the Dior universe, guides readers through the origins of this floral passion and how it has been passed on in a chapter called “A World of Inspirations”. And the chapter by writer Justine Picardie, “Dior in Bloom”, features a portrait of Catherine Dior, the couturier’s beloved sister who shared his passion for flowers.

The conclusion, “An Extraordinary Herbarium by Dior”, celebrates the Maison’s perfumes, all created by François Demachy. Parfums Christian Dior has constantly sought out exceptional raw materials and championed protection of biodiversity. Dior gardens thrive not just in France, but around the world, including Italy, India and Sri Lanka for fragrances. In addition, hibiscus from Burkina Faso, longoza from Madagascar and edelweiss from Switzerland are all carefully cultivated and protected for Dior skincare products.