Olivier Flaviano: “La Galerie Dior sheds light on an exceptional living legacy that spans and continues to write fashion history.”

“I entered the world of fashion through the world of archives.” From the Théâtre de la Colline to the Association pour le Rayonnement de l’Opéra de Paris, Olivier Flaviano began his career committed to broadening the reach of cultural institutions. This led him, in October 2009, to join the Fondation Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent, created to preserve and transmit the work of the designer whose Haute Couture House had closed its doors in January 2002. In the former salons, transformed into museum spaces, exhibitions were organized to reflect the taste of the two men. “When I arrived, an exhibition was devoted to Jean-Michel Frank, the great decorator of the 1930s. Then came David Hockney, Hiroshi Sugimoto or an exhibition on the painter Jacques-Emile Blanche. It was very diverse and I really enjoyed it.” Working for this institution, he gained access to the House’s history, to its archives. A universe opened up to him as he discovered the original sketches, the prototypes, the collection charts, the sales records... “The House of Yves Saint Laurent was the first to preserve all of its archives over the forty years of its Haute Couture existence.” When Pierre Bergé launched the museum project, Olivier Flaviano followed every step, developed his understanding of the challenges of preserving and transmitting a Haute Couture heritage, and assumed its direction from the opening in October 2017. Pierre Bergé passed away a few weeks earlier, on 8 September. “Monsieur Bergé was both impressive and very demanding. I learned so much from him.”

“La Galerie Dior presents a living approach to the archive.”

In April 2021, Olivier Flaviano joined the House of Dior to head La Galerie, opening in March 2022. For the second time in his career, he accompanied the birth of a fashion museum and took the helm from its inauguration. The creation of La Galerie is part of a heritage valorisation policy initiated and led by Olivier Bialobos, Deputy General Director, in charge of Communication and Image for Christian Dior Couture and Parfums Christian Dior, since his arrival at the House over twenty years ago. “He deployed a policy of acquisition, conservation, loans and exhibitions of great scope. Around ten years ago, he launched the “Global Inventory” project which consists of connecting with the world’s major fashion museums that hold Dior pieces. The aim is to create scientific collaborations to identify and document the models preserved using our archives, but also to have a better knowledge of existing collections.” This project forms the premises of the exhibition of Azzedine Alaïa’s collection.

Today, La Galerie Dior’s mission is to showcase and historicise the collection preserved by Dior Heritage. La Galerie is situated at 30 Montaigne, in the House’s historic building where Monsieur Dior’s office and the models’ cabin have been preserved intact. It’s also the address of the Haute Couture ateliers. “There’s a direct dialogue between the space of creation and the space of sharing, of exhibiting this history. I find beautiful that the models are displayed in the very place they were born.” A permanent route traces the House’s history whilst the programme of temporary exhibitions enriches this narrative.

“Azzedine Alaïa had assembled his Dior collection in the greatest secrecy. This exhibition reveals the creative affinities with Monsieur Dior and tells the very essence of Haute Couture.”

In 1956, the young Azzedine Alaïa arrived in Paris from Tunis. Encouraged by Habiba Menchari, a figure of women's emancipation in Tunisia, he approached Madame Lévy-Despas, a client of the House of Dior, who arranged an internship of a few days for him. When Olivier Saillard was appointed Director of the Fondation Azzedine Alaïa in 2017, he undertook extensive work on the archives. “He came to us around two years ago to work on this idea of a global inventory that Olivier Bialobos had initiated, based on Alaïa's Dior collections.” The first task consisted of identifying and documenting the models. The scale was striking: 600 Dior models acquired over the years, forming part of the 20,000 pieces preserved by the Fondation Azzedine Alaïa. A collection assembled in the greatest secrecy, with absolute respect for his profession and his peers, one of the most significant private fashion heritage collections. “The corpus mainly consists of pieces by Monsieur Dior from his ten years of creation between 1947 and 1957. It's difficult to say which piece surprised us most, as it's above all the collection as a corpus that is fascinating because it offers a remarkably complete picture of Monsieur Dior's history and his 22 Haute Couture collections.”

This dual exhibition, curated by Olivier Saillard with the collaboration of Gaël Mamine, is unprecedented for La Galerie Dior. “It's the first time we've worked so closely with another museum institution. Of course, La Galerie has only existed for four years...” he notes with a smile. “We conceived the exhibition through the lens of affinities between Dior and Alaïa, but also exploring how the very essence of Haute Couture could be revealed.” Two exhibitions unfold in parallel: one at La Galerie Dior, the other at the Fondation Azzedine Alaïa. At La Galerie Dior, numerous archive documents, original sketches, and collection charts accompany the pieces. “The richness of Alaïa's textile collection responds to the richness of the House of Dior archives. The exhibition reflects our scientific collaboration.”

The exhibition traces the stages of constructing a collection: the sketches, the toiles, “which is the transcription of the sketch in volume,” the fabric in both its materiality and colour, then the technique, the architecture of the garment, and finally the fashion show. “A Haute Couture show at the time was 180 models, lasting 1h30 to 2 hours, built on the principle of a woman changing between two and four times a day. We discover day models, cocktail, evening, coats, sports ensembles, afternoon dresses, late afternoon, for dancing...” The very composition of a Monsieur Dior Haute Couture collection reflected an art of living in its totality. “When Christian Dior died in 1957, Jacques Rouët, the House's general director, stated at a press conference that Dior, beyond the New Look, had created a school of style and taste.”

“La Galerie Dior's role is to inspire by transmitting a living heritage that is both material and immaterial.”

Beyond the temporary exhibitions, La Galerie offers a permanent route in constant evolution that tells the living history of the House through the eight artistic directors who have succeeded Monsieur Dior. “What's interesting is the resonance of Monsieur Dior's work through time and the dialogues we can create between his work and that of the other creators of the House, but also among the other creators themselves, based on classic themes such as flowers or the great balls, but also new subjects. A few years ago, a room was devoted to Miss Dior, the ready-to-wear line launched in 1967 by Marc Bohan. La Galerie Dior functions as a laboratory of ideas that can then be developed for exhibitions beyond its walls.”

To embody this ongoing history which begun in 1947, a room welcomes artisans from different crafts each week: Tailleur, Flou, Leatherwork, Embroidery, Millinery and Perfumery. “It's not only a presentation, it's a moment of exchange that can inspire vocations.” This material heritage - the collections, the place - dialogues with the immaterial heritage - the savoir-faire - transmitted by these artisans. ‘In August 1955, Christian Dior was the first couturier invited to discourse on the aesthetics of fashion at La Sorbonne, before 1,200 people. When asked about the role of Couture in a world in upheaval, ten years after the war, he replied that its role was to maintain traditions and transmit them to future generations.” La Galerie Dior embodies this mission today: sharing and bringing to life the legacy of a House that, for nearly eight decades, has shaped the history of contemporary fashion.

“La collection Dior d'Azzedine Alaïa” can be discovered at La Galerie Dior, 11 rue François Ier, 75008 Paris, until 3 May 2026.

“Azzedine Alaïa et Christian Dior. Deux maîtres de la Haute Couture” is held at the Fondation Azzedine Alaïa, 18 rue de la Verrerie, 75004 Paris, until 24 May 2026.

Reuben Attia