The Princess in Dior showcase, which will open on April 27, will feature more than 85 dresses from the late Princess of Monaco's publicly-worn haute couture dresses as well as her private wardrobe.
- April 13, 2019
AceShowbiz - Grace Kelly's wardrobe is set to go on display at the Christian Dior Museum, located in the designer's family home in Granville, Normandy.
Opening on April 27, the Grace of Monaco, Princess in Dior exhibition will feature more than 85 dresses from Kelly's personal wardrobe, as part of a showcase dedicated to her close relationship to the house of Dior.
The Hollywood icon famously chose to wear Christian Dior as she entered into Monegasque royalty, following her marriage to Prince Rainier III in 1956.
She had previously appeared in a Dior gown at her engagement ball earlier that year, and wore a haute couture creation from Christian Dior's fall 1956 collection in her first official portrait as Princess Grace of Monaco.
Fashion historian Florence Muller, who also curated the exhibition, was allowed unprecedented access into the Monaco Palace's archives, and revealed that one-third of the "Rear Window" star's covetable wardrobe was Dior garments.
"Grace Kelly's relationship with the maison Dior reveals the central place the house occupied in fashion at the time," she reflected. "(Creative director) Marc Bohan perfectly understood her role: she needed to be stylish, but respectful of etiquette."
The exhibition will showcase a selection of the star's publicly-worn haute couture dresses, alongside a private wardrobe of shirtdresses, tweed suits and clean-cut blouses.
Muller went on to consider the blend of public and private that the actress-turned-royal represents, and insisted that she was the first royal of her kind to be so accessible to the public.
"Before Grace of Monaco, royalty remained a private affair: princesses weren't seen in public as much, or photographed by the press," she explained. "She represents a moment of change of etiquette, a real rupture."
