DIOR EXHIBITION SHOWCASES FEMININE STRENGTH

In a corner of the Shanghai Exhibition Center, items emblazoned with strong feminine colors and featuring iconic Dior motifs were grouped together, including large pink perfume bottles, art installations and paintings.

The corner, gathering standout examples of the "Miss Dior As Seen By" project, was just one section of the Art'N Dior exhibition, which offered space for nine outstanding women to share their virtuoso visions for the Miss Dior fragrance, rethinking its instantly recognizable bottle and irresistibly timeless spirit.

As part of the ART021 Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair, Dior presented the Art'N Dior exhibition in the city from Nov 9-12.

Among the exhibits, the works of three Chinese artists attracted a great deal of attention, which sparked reflection on feminine power and delivered their understanding of Dior's spirit.

"All my creations are related to my own life experiences," says Zhou Li, who graduated from the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts in 1991. She lived and worked in France from 1995 to 2003.

Her artworks use various shades of pink in different tonalities and opacities that correspond to specific imagery, such as The Peach Blossom Spring and Water and Dreams series.

The Peach Blossom Spring — Miss Dior, which was designed to pay tribute to Miss Dior fragrance, continues Zhou's style, attempting to reproduce perceptions of nature and inner feelings using abstract colors and dynamic lines.

Zhou explains that the pinks in her artworks represent softness, rationality, and the power of infinite life, while the pinks in The Peach Blossom Spring — Miss Dior on canvas are lighter, with added textures, to recall ephemerality or gradually gathering clouds.

Meanwhile, the perfume bottle is relatively tough, and the tone of this perfume itself is also consistent with the spiritual temperament of The Peach Blossom Spring.

"I think, in the collaboration between artists and brands, inspiration is a two-way street. After understanding the story behind Miss Dior (a series dedicated to Catherine Dior, the younger sister of Christian Dior, who was a French Resistance fighter during World War II. She was arrested and tortured by the Gestapo, but never lost her tenacious willpower, demonstrating the power of women), I was very moved," says Zhou, whose works are part of the collections of many museums, groups and individuals.

In addition to Zhou, artist and sculptor Wang Hua, who was born in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region in 1990, designed the work Love Is A Gift for "Miss Dior As Seen By".

The sculpture features the ribbon from the Miss Dior bottle as its focal point. Using ceramics, Wang skillfully juxtaposes hardness and softness, showcasing elegant curves that serve as a powerful representation of sisterhood, and paying tribute to the generosity and selflessness of women.

"I have seen Christian Dior's works before, and he had always used the bowknot pattern, which particularly impressed me. Whether it appears on perfume bottles or dresses, it is the icing on the cake," says Wang, who graduated from Central Saint Martins in London in 2012, and currently divides her time between China and Europe.

Therefore, Wang also chose to use the bowknot in her work, trying to make it feel like a piece of candy as well as a monument to emphasize that all the characteristics of females, even excessive feminization, are worth commemorating.

"Many monuments are male-dominated and designed to commemorate politics and history, but I wanted to build a monument to celebrate the power and characteristics of women, and convey the female spirit," Wang explains.

Liang Yuanwei, who is good at highlighting the beauty of fabric texture through art, designed Into the Dust, drawing inspiration from the classic Miss Dior dress of 1949.

By extracting the colors of the dress and using gradient colors to depict flowers turning to dust, Liang captures an ephemeral moment, much like how the scent of a perfume gradually dissipates with the passage of time.

"My artistic philosophy met Dior's artistic philosophy by chance, and it was an incredibly beautiful encounter," says Liang, 45, who graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing.

As well as showcasing female power through joint creation, the Art'N Dior exhibition also set aside areas for the exhibitions Dior Lady Art and Dior by Starck.

The eighth edition of Dior Lady Art was a unique concept for which a number of artists from around the world played a part in the metamorphosis of Lady Dior handbags.

And Dior by Starck provided a room dedicated to the Medallion chair, revealing the fascinating dialogue forged between Dior and the preeminent French industrial designer and architect Philippe Starck.