Why Dior / Lindbergh at La Galerie Dior in Paris is an essential visit

At Dior’s multi-storied flagship store in Paris one could get lost within its decorated walls featuring miniature toiles and Dior accessories. And when your feet need a little break, you can fuel up at their cafe where sweet treats and fresh coffee fill the air. And then just a stone’s throw away is La Galerie Dior which opened in March 2022 and offers an immersive experience of the house’s long, winding and wonderful history. From letters scribbled by Monsieur Dior to archival imagery of intimate couture shows in the heart of Paris with elite couture clientele and choicest editors and buyers, all that is historic and integral to the brand finds an homage here. 

Up until May 4, 2025, the space will be infused with another aspect of the brand’s remarkable history. Featuring a retrospective celebrating the late Peter Lindbergh’s contributions to fashion photography, the exhibit, with the support of the Peter Lindbergh Foundation, unveils over 100 captivating images of Dior creations, spanning decades. From capturing works from Christian Dior’s era to Maria Grazia Chiuri’s modern vision, Lindbergh, known for his unfiltered approach and championing of raw beauty, immortalised supermodels and brought haute couture into the spontaneity of everyday settings. 

 

A highlight in the exhibition is his exclusive 2018 shoot on the streets of New York, featuring rare Dior archival pieces, including a pristine white wool coat seen on Amber Valletta, in vibrant city scenes, melding luxury with urban grit—only the way a shoot in New York can. 

As fashion deeply roots itself within art and art spaces, Dior benefits from dedicating La Galerie Dior to its journey, cultivating a hub of culture and discovery. Through the magical images of Peter Lindbergh, some shot in the iconic black and white style that only he so perfectly played with, a labyrinth of rooms come alive and in conversation. What the late photographer uncannily achieved was a chronicling of the various creative directors and their reinvention and reinvigoration to the house of Dior and its exacting codes. 

In an exclusive interview with Olivier Flaviano, director of Galerie Dior Paris, we go behind the exhibition, its making, and the emblematic photographs of Linda Evangelista and Cindy Crawford in Dior captured by the photographer for Harper’s Bazaar in the ‘90s.

Read excerpts of the interview below:

Akanksha Kamath (AK): Why the celebration of Peter Lindbergh and his association and work for Dior? And why now? 
Olivier Flaviano (OF): La Galerie Dior opened its doors in March 2022, in the historic premises of 30 Montaigne. Curating two different exhibitions a year provides an opportunity to take a ‘new look’ at its history and archives. Five years after Peter Lindbergh’s passing, the Dior / Lindbergh exhibition presents a hundred photographs for Dior, from 1988 to 2018.
 
AK: How did you choose the photographs from the legendary photographer’s oeuvre of work for dior? 

OF: The selection is based on the one Peter Lindbergh did for the Dior / Lindbergh book, published in 2019 by Taschen. It was important for us—and for the Peter Lindbergh Foundation—to respect his choices. The exhibition tells two stories: a 70-year-long story of the House of Dior through the lens of Peter Lindbergh, as well as a retrospective of Peter Lindbergh’s work based on the images he created for Dior.
 
AK: I particularly found the dialogue between the different creative directors of the house in conversation through Peter Lindbergh’s work deeply exciting. How do you think he captured each differently? 

OF: What is interesting, on the contrary, is the way he captured them all with his own style: it brings a new modernity to each of the Dior looks and reveals at the same time the essence of the House of Dior.
 
AK: Do you think there was a certain lens he brought specifically to the Dior woman? How would you describe it? 

OF: “My great subject was women. To follow them as closely as possible so that they could express themselves and assert their truth. I track down a mystery, I seek an emotion,” Peter Lindbergh said. I think this exhibition shines a light on deep affinities: both the House and the photographer were committed to celebrating the singular allure of women. 
 
AK: The New York shoot is certainly a highlight. Could you tell me more about Monsieur Dior’s association with New York and why this shoot was important to showcase? 

OF: In 2018, Dior gave carte blanche to Peter Lindbergh: “Haute couture was traditionally associated with an idea of perfection and extreme mastery; my wish was to transport 70 years of Dior creations into unexpected territory…” the photographer later confided about this incredible photoshoot. Peter Lindbergh played with contrasts: 70 years of Dior haute couture shot in the present day; Paris haute couture shot in the streets of New York. These images—printed for the first time—bring back “the movement of life”, which was so dear to Christian Dior, to archival pieces.
 
AK: Could you highlight a couple of images shot for Harper's Bazaar magazine and tell us the story, narrative and context behind them? 

OF: The exhibition also presents images from Peter Lindbergh’s work for magazines. It includes emblematic photographs of Linda Evangelista and Cindy Crawford in Dior dresses designed by Gianfranco Ferré, respectively published in 1993 and 1995 in Harper’s Bazaar. Both shots highlight the role of Peter Lindbergh in the founding of the ‘supermodel’ at the end of the 1980s, and the way he strongly influenced the history of fashion photography with his naturalistic approach. Lastly, never-before-seen archives from the Peter Lindbergh Foundation are also on view: contact prints, work prints and final proofs that reveal the photographer’s creative process.

‘Dior / Lindbergh’ runs until May 4, 2025 at La Galerie Dior, 11 rue François-Ier, Paris 8th

Also read: #BazaarCalendar: A curated guide for where to be and what to see this November