Avant Garden
A narrative-driven spatial concept that constructs emotional architecture through atmosphere, materiality, and movement. Transforming retail into an immersive environment, it strengthens emotional connection while communicating heritage, creativity, and identity. Space, body, and memory become interconnected, with each environment translating narrative into atmosphere and experience.
Act I: Where the Garden Began (Ground Floor)
Visitors enter at ground level where the narrative of Dior’s creative origins unfolds through archival references, sketches, and a gallery-inspired installation reflecting Christian Dior’s early career as a gallerist. Artistic influences, including The Persistence of Memory, introduce a surreal and increasingly abstract spatial journey. A florist activation inspired by Catherine Dior extends into the Miss Dior fragrance space, where scent acts as a cyclical memory device, reinforcing themes of heritage, identity, and emotional immersion.
Act II: The Under Garden (Lower Ground Floor)
Visitors descend into the Undergarden, a metaphorical exploration of Dior’s roots where Christian Dior’s first catwalk is reinterpreted through interactive installations inspired by the House’s iconic cannage chairs. Projection mapping and responsive lighting create an evolving environment shaped by visitor movement and participation.
Within the courtyard, La Collection Privée transforms fragrance into an immersive storytelling experience, positioning scent as a medium for memory, transformation, and emotional connection.
Act III: The Garden of Omen (First Floor)
Ascending from the roots, visitors enter a space shaped by belief and intuition. The layout adopts the form of the number eight, associated with luck and the silhouette of the new look, while lily of the valley appears as a recurring symbol. The charm activation invites visitors to select the lucky charm they feel most drawn to, encouraging personal interpretation and exploration of the narrative. References to the Hive reimagine the atelier as a system of collective creation, where movement and sound evoke the spread of ideas.
Act IV: The Forbidden Garden (Second Floor)
The narrative intensifies within the Forbidden Garden, where immersive red environments heighten emotion, desire, and surprise. At its centre, the Trafalgar Look is reinterpreted as a spatial experience inspired by the striking red ensemble traditionally positioned midway through Christian Dior’s couture shows to recapture attention. Referencing the ritual of Dior leaving shows marked with red lipstick kisses, the space transforms red into a symbol of celebration, luck, and affirmation within the House.
Act V: The Night Garden (Third Floor)
At the uppermost level, the narrative dissolves into atmosphere. The Night Garden prioritises sensation, anchored by the Star, a guiding symbol for Dior. The presence of The Star extends beyond symbolism into product, referencing its placement on every Dior shoe, a detail rooted in Christian Dior’s belief in the star as a guiding sign of destiny (see figure 60). This floor is dedicated to menswear and footwear, grounding the space within a contemporary retail context, fostering a sense of wonder and quiet reflection.
Epilogue: What the garden hides at night (Terrace)
The terrace extends the narrative into an open-air environment inspired by Dior’s Rose des Vents fine jewellery collection, offering a moment of reflection beyond the interior journey. Designed as a responsive soundscape, wind acts as an invisible conductor, translating airflow into shifting tones, layered atmospheres, and moments of silence that heighten sensory awareness. Subtle lighting transitions from day to night further shape the experience, reinforcing themes of navigation, presence, and emotional resonance.
The Imprint
The Imprint is an immersive installation inspired by Dior’s 1947 debut, where cannage patterns from chairs subtly marked guests’ garments. Visitors sit within a projected environment where cannage-inspired roots imprint onto their bodies and gradually spread throughout the space. Over time, the body becomes an archive, reframing retail as a participatory, memory-driven experience.
