SEOUL — Dior’s blockbuster retrospective may have traveled through several cities in the last nine years, but fans of the couture house can enjoy a whole new experience in the latest edition in Seoul.

The exhibition, which debuted at Les Arts Décoratifs museum in Paris for the brand’s 70^th anniversary, encapsulates Dior’s history of dressing women for special occasions, the craftsmanship of the studio and workshop, as well as the founder Christian Dior’s love of gardens.

The “Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams” exhibition at Dongdaemun Design Plaza, one of Seoul’s landmark venues designed by Zaha Hadid, debuted on Friday and will be open to the public until July 13.

“Each time it’s the same theme but with a different concept and different dresses,” said Olivier Bialobos, Dior’s deputy managing director of global communication and image.

Pieces are newly chosen for each city, from an ever-expanding archive collection that includes more than 15,000 dresses and 15,000 accessories. Visitors will be able to view some 250 dresses, ranging from never-before-seen pieces found through auctions to recognizable numbers worn on the red carpet by Jisoo of Blackpink and Natalie Portman.

“This company lasted so long because there is a consistency between the designers that have been the head of the house, and this exhibition tells the story,” said curator Florence Müller, who works with the patrimony team to go through Dior’s expansive archive. 

In addition to featuring a new set of dresses, the exhibition unveiled works by artists of Korean origin, including new additions to the Dior Lady Art project. Lee Ufan, a pioneer of the Mono-ha movement, brought his signature gestural stroke to three wooly bags in black, mint and white.

The bags were featured in a Lady Dior showcase alongside past projects by artists of Korean origin including Soo Sunny Park and Zadie Xa. The exhibition of the iconic handbags is a completely new feature introduced for Seoul.

“The glass cases of the Lady Dior corner were inspired by [Korean artist] Nam June Paik,” said the exhibit’s scenographer Shohei Shigematsu, a partner at Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas’ OMA agency.

“Dior is creating a platform where lots of different minds are converging, and it’s a deep collaboration that is not cliched in terms of incorporating Asian aesthetics. It’s a profound collaboration,” he said.

Park, a Korean-American artist, brought to the show her signature kinetic sculpture, an organic installation that constantly interacts with the light to shift the mood of the room. “The artwork itself is not the object. I like to think about my work as a living assemblage of things,” Park said, adding it was wonderful to work with lighting designer François Roupinian for recreating a nocturnal ambiance.

Shigematsu noted that the venue, normally used for Seoul Fashion Week, presented exciting challenges.

“It’s 2,000 square meters with 16-meter-high ceilings without columns. The ultimate freedom was so exciting, but sometimes freedom is scary,” he said, explaining that his team had to “build our own building within a building” to create thematic rooms that converge into one overarching story.

A highlight of the exhibition is an atmospheric room conceptualized as a giant “dalhangari” moon jar, a traditional piece of Joseon-era porcelain. Christian Dior’s love of gardens is brought to life anew through delicate paper art by Hyunju Kim. The artist has been working with “hanji,” or Korean traditional mulberry-fiber paper, for more than a decade. Kim along with over 20 assistants spent over two months crafting tens of thousands of paper leaves, flowers and branches. Two weeks were then allocated to individually “planting” the paper blooms without the use of glue.

“I really took sustainability into account. The New Look expressed femininity and post-war healing, and so, I think the organic quality of ‘hanji’ can also bring the wonders of nature to the modern world,” said Kim.

“I loved working with Dior because I really felt support and respect for whatever I wanted to do,” she added. 

Bialobos explained that the artists have “carte blanche to do whatever they want,” which helps the brand push new limits in terms of technology. Past Lady Dior Art bags with the Korean artist Lee Bul, for example, featured pieces of rock that the brand was challenged to craft in a way so that it was ultimately thinner than leather. Lee’s bag is also on display in the exhibit.

Xa, a Korean Canadian artist, expanded her horizons an artist when she was commissioned to do a portrait of Christian Dior for the show.

“I don’t normally do portraits, so it was an interesting and fun,” said Xa, who had many conversations with her husband, Benito Mayor Vellayo, who is known for more traditional European-style portraits.

“When we often think about portraits we think about the physical, but I wanted to a more psychological exploration. This wasn’t easy because there was so much mysticism surrounding this man. But through my research I saw Monsieur Dior in a more empathetic way and felt connected with who he was: a man who loved gardens and named a bag after his dog,” she said.