Seven Designers, One House: Dior’s Legacy Curated by Carine Roitfeld

In a rare convergence of fashion legacy and contemporary vision, “UBS House of Craft x Dior” (June 6–8, 2025) brought the art of haute couture into sharp, luminous focus. Curated by fashion icon Carine Roitfeld and captured through the lens of photographer Brigitte Niedermair, this immersive New York exhibition—opened only for two days—presented photographs and garments in an unprecedented tribute to the artistry of Dior’s ateliers across eight decades. It also marked the first time all seven of Dior’s creative directors—Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Bohan, Gianfranco Ferré, John Galliano, Raf Simons, and Maria Grazia Chiuri—were united in one exhibition, with a special nod to Kim Jones.

“At UBS, craft is more than a concept—it’s a reflection of how we care for our clients and their ambitions, through dedication, excellence, and a combination of heritage and vision,” said John McDonald, Group Chief Marketing Officer and Head Group Brand & Marketing Innovation at UBS. “We are proud to partner with Dior and Carine Roitfeld to present a unique celebration of the craft of couture, allowing us to honor what matters most to our clients: preserving what’s timeless while building for the future.”

For Roitfeld, the project is more than a retrospective of images and clothing; it’s a celebration of the craftsmanship, identity, and narrative power embedded in fashion. Having styled the exhibition’s archive looks directly from Dior’s vaults, she reimagines the house’s storied past through a contemporary lens—one informed by decades at the forefront of editorial and creative direction. 

Complementing the exhibition is a six-day series of intimate panels, workshops, and conversations designed to deepen public engagement with the craft of couture. Highlights include “From Curation to Creation,” a conversation between Roitfeld and Niedermair; “Leadership in Fashion & Luxury,” with Dior’s Alexandra Winokur and UBS executives Solita Marcelli and Jen Povlitz; and artist Jeffrey Gibson’s exploration of fashion and art’s shared language. Additional sessions spotlight the atelier’s role, sustainable luxury, and Dior’s collective heritage, while hands-on demonstrations and student-focused programming round out the celebration. 

For those interested in purchasing photographs presented in the exhibition, images are for sale. Proceeds from them will benefit the Fashion Scholarship Fund (FSF) through the creation of the UBS House of Craft x FSF Scholarship Program, supporting talented undergraduates who demonstrate an interest and commitment to pursuing the mastery of craft. 

“Above all, this alliance is a celebration of excellence, haute couture elegance, and the exceptional savoir-faire deployed by Dior since the triumph of the New Look in 1947,” added Olivier Bialobos, Deputy Managing Director of Dior. “Carine Roitfeld’s passion and unique expertise, combined with the unrivaled talent of Brigitte Niedermair, a loyal collaborator of the House, highlight at once our timeless heritage and our creativity that is constantly reinvented by the various designers who have succeeded Christian Dior. This artistic dialogue is a tribute to audacity and virtuoso artisanship, at the convergence of past, present, and future, in a perpetually shifting cultural landscape.”

“UBS House of Craft x Dior” will continue to celebrate the craft of fashion alongside horology and gastronomy, with a series of global events taking place in the U.S. and Asia throughout the year. These themes highlight the juxtaposition between heritage and innovation and present the artisanal technique achieved by accomplished leaders within each craft category. 

Whitewall spoke with Roitfeld about her curatorial process, the enduring language of couture, and why, in her words, “craft is always about the future.”

WHITEWALL: You’ve curated many high-fashion moments in your career, but this one in particular brings together eight decades of Dior. What was the most challenging or rewarding part about distilling Distor’s legacy down to this one exhibition? 

CARINE ROITFELD: It was difficult to be respectful of each designer with each of their look. In another way, to not to be too retro. We had to find a balance between today and the original, let’s say. Sometimes we changed the jacket, sometimes we change the makeup, sometimes we changed the hair. We needed to make, even the look and the boots of Monsieur Dior, like you want to wear them today. We tried to make everything “today.” 

WW: Were there any pieces that particularly surprised you or moved you during the curation process?

CR: I was very happy to get to know the designer Marc Bohan because I almost didn’t know him—and he was working 29 years for Dior. A long time! I have to say, I really like his clothes. They’re very modern, very easy for the customers to wear. And I like that he did something with a polo—an homage to polo on one of his dresses. And there was a lot of leopard, and I love leopard. I’ve never met him in person, so that was nice. I needed to get to know his towk to understand what he was doing, and where everything was coming from. And now I have a lot of respect for him.

WW: We were recently in Lacoste with Dior for its “Jardins Rêvés” exhibition opening with SCAD, and spoke with Perrine Scherrer from Dior’s Head of Heritage and Hélène Starkman, the Exhibitions Director. It was fascinating to hear from them about working with the archives, pulling pieces to honor each designer. What was it like working with them?

CR: Perrine is really lovely to work with. She’s a very nice person—and she knows so many things. She has such knowledge, so there was a lot to discover. We were very happy. At the beginning, I was surprised at the way they keep their archives. Each archive is on a special hanger, with special shoulders to show the fit of the jacket, or the fit of the dress. Everything has to be under a certain temperature, as if it was alive. Even when you don’t see the garment under the dress, you see the measure for the dress. It was quite amazing to see all of that. Sometimes a dress comes under a big white tent; some of these Galliano dresses are so big. They have a passion, too, so talking with people with a passion is fantastic. You learn a lot of things—and I love to learn. 

“I was surprised at the way they keep their archives.”

—Carine Roitfeld

WW: And what was it like working with Brigitte to bring this vision to life through photography? You’ve been working with her for quite some time…

CR: Yes, it’s been more than 12 years that I’ve been working regularly with Brigitte, so I know her very well. She’s very organized in her mind. She knows since day one how she wants to photograph the look, which sort of picture she wants, what sort of background. She knows in advance. She’s very well prepared. Once the dress comes and the models come, we don’t have to wait to start. She very smart. She decided to make a link between all the Dior looks, even if it’s not the same designer. I think it was very beautiful. She put a lot of roses—roses are from Monsieur Dior, you know—on all the looks. And sometimes we put the jacket of Monsieur Dior on a huge evening dress of John Galliano. We had a lot of fun, and the casting was brilliant. We had great girls—some that already worked for Dior or Galliano. They know how to carry the dresses. It’s very different to carry a couture dress than a prêt-à-porter dress. You need the body for that, the attitude, the right position… iIt’s another work. 

We had a great team. Eugene Souleiman did the hair, and it was fantastic. Lloyd Simmonds did the makeup—and Lord is someone who worked a lot with Dior, so he knows all the tricks and the tricks of Dior. We had all the professionals with us. It was only two days of shooting, and we finished very late at night, but even the girls were very excited about the project. 

WW: The exhibition explored heritage, innovation, and the future of couture, is balancing tradition with reinvention. And we spoke about this in the beginning. And you’re kind of mentioning it here about balancing the past and the present, even putting structured and tailored jackets over gowns and things like this. How did you reflect this tension in the curation?

CR: When you talk about couture, it’s sort of a laboratory. After, they create shape. After, sometimes, they use the shape of these models to go to prêt-à-porter. So sometimes couture is just a laboratory to create new shape and new ideas that they’re going to work with after. I like this idea of creativity—total creativity. I think it’s so beautiful the way they preserve it like a beautiful wine. The craft is not just embroidery—it’s the ideas, how you’re going to make the waist, the way you’re going to make the hips. This is a craft, too. 

“When you talk about couture, it’s sort of a laboratory.”

—Carine Roitfeld

WW: The way that you speak about haute couture and it being craft is true for many houses, but Dior does things a little differently. How would you describe how they do craft uniquely?

CR: They’re all different, so they have different ideas about the way they’re going to do craft, you know? There was a dress of Mr. Dior’s with all these little flowers named Miss Dior. It was amazing the way it’s done; it’s still so beautiful. And after, he put a lot of roses everywhere. And maybe when you see Raf Simon’s, there’s no roses on the dress, but in the room of the first haute couture show, it was totally full of flowers—everywhere, all over the walls. But one finds his way to make an homage to Monsieur Dior, and each one has his idea of craft—and sometimes it’s an experiment, like John Galliano’s ideas of from traveling in Egypt, China, and Japan. Traveling a lot and getting inspired… And sometimes with Raf Simons, it’s very sober, very simple. But I think the most difficult thing in couture is to do a very simple dress because it has to be perfection. So, each one has a specialty, but everyone feels the Dior house.

WW: As you reflect on Dior’s evolution—and perhaps even your own legacy because you have shaped fashion culture for decades, as well—what do you hope visitors take away from this exhibition? Not just about Dior, but about the role of fashion in shaping identity and culture?

CR: I think there has to a some mood board of each designer so that people coming to the exhibition understand the work in the exhibition. We need to understand the work of each designer with pictures and references. And when you talk to French people, Dior is a genius name. Everyone knows Dior, everyone loves Dior. And they loved Dior because they started to love Monsieur Dior himself. Christian Dior was a really a loved person by all the French people. He had the idea of a dress, the way to dress a woman. He had a love for the garden, the roses. He had a little house on the coast with all these roses, you know. I never met him, but he seems like such a nice person. Everyone loves him, even if you don’t know him. 

So, everyone loved Dior because everyone loved Monsieur Dior—and now everyone loves the continuity of Dior. It’s like a French monument; it’s like the Eiffel Tower. Dior is huge for French people. 

“Everyone knows Dior, everyone loves Dior.”

—Carine Roitfeld

WW: What is your favorite piece in the exhibition? Do you have one? 

CR: Yes. It’s not a piece, but a look. My favorite picture, I will say, is a model wearing John Galliano—a huge evening dress. They call it “the queen” because she was wearing a big crown. And instead of the top of the corset, we put Mr. Dior’s very first classic Bar jacket. The two together, it’s so well done. I think you can see the success of the brand—that you can mix different designers. The brand is bigger than the designers themselves. That’s the best at Dior, and it’s not always the same everywhere. The tradition, I think, is something that’s very important. 

WW: What are you personally working on right now? Or for the rest of the year? 

CR: My son is just launching a magazine called Players, which is between sport and fashion, and we’re part of it. It’s a huge thing. After that, I’m working on my perfumes. I have nine perfumes now. And today I’m doing something special. I’m a model for a magazine named Purple, which I love. Traveling to New York, traveling to Beirut… I love Beirut. I recently came back from Cannes for the ​​amfAR Gala Cannes. I’veb een working on this show for years. It was cool because it was an homage to James Bond girls. The girls were amazing, sexy. The James Bond music was fabulous. You know, we don’t really have a day off in fashion. No days off.