A unique exhibition is now taking place in Somerset House in London. From now and until January 09 you may see the most opulent and iconic works created by the famous fashion illustrator of the 20th century Rene Gruau, who for 40 years of his life worked with Dior. The exhibition is designed to celebrate this collaboration and show Gruau’s original artwork for the House of Dior, as the visitors may see over seventy original illustrations for Christian Dior sketches, perfumes, magazines and poster ads created by the artist.

Image Courtesy: www.dazeddigital.com. Illustration by Rene Gruau

«The illustrations (I counted seventy) are done in ink, gouache and pencil—some mention watercolour. They’re fairly small—about the same size as the magazine pages in which they would eventually feature. Those magazine ads show pretty much what Gruau painted; there’s no sense that anything had to be airbrushed or photoshopped», writes a fashion reviewer for www.nstperfume.com who was lucky to attend the event.

Every review is a valuable piece of information on the exhibition since no photographers are allowed. This is to focus on the competition that existed between graphical illustrations by Rene Gruau and other photographers who offered their shots instead of graphic illustrations.

Image Courtesy: www.dazeddigital.com. Illustration by Rene Gruau

Aside from the illustrations, the most iconic Dior Haute Couture dresses are displayed at the exhibition. They were carefully chosen by the leading designer of the House of Dior, John Galiano. He said, “To be inspired by Dior is to be inspired by René Gruau. His illustrations are timeless, ever youthful, ever faithful to the moment he saw; they capture the energy, the sophistication and daring of Dior, and equally are a token of an enduring friendship” (www.dazeddigital.com).

Image Courtesy: www.dazeddigital.com. Illustration by Rene Gruau

Image Courtesy: www.dazeddigital.com. Illustration by Rene Gruau