Dior Les Lalanne Exhibition at 30 Montaigne

In conjunction with the sale of works by Claude et François-Xavier Lalanne – organized by Sotheby’s in Paris on November 3 – Dior is presenting a preview at 30 Montaigne of more than twenty exceptional sculptures from the collection of their daughter, Dorothée Lalanne. 

An event that indeed pays homage to the first profession of Monsieur Dior who, prior to being a couturier, was a gallery owner and passionate collector of the artistic avant-garde. In 1957, he met the Lalanne couple. Thus began the story connecting their name to that of the House, who thereafter ordered fabulous pieces of decor from the artist-couple for the boutique, inaugurated by the couturier in 1955, on the corner of avenue Montaigne and rue François 1er.

These artistic links were woven again in 2007 when Claude Lalanne sculpted a circular bench, comprising magnificent interlacing of silvery ginkgo leaves, designed in answer to a request by the architect Peter Marino, for the emblematic addresses of Dior throughout the world. In 2017, for her first haute couture show as Creative Director of Dior women’s lines, Maria Grazia Chiuri in her turn invited Claude Lalanne to imagine the jewelry of the collection. The creations of the sculptress displayed conjured-up flora and fauna, exalting the enchanting magic of couture. « Hands alone know, and hands alone do » wrote Dorothée Lalanne when evoking Claude Lalanne. In 2021, thanks to Dior’s patronage, the large-scale exhibition « Les Lalanne à Trianon » revealed the work of the sculptors in the gardens of the Château de Versailles.

Marking a new chapter in the story uniting Dior and the Lalanne couple, 30 Montaigne is honoring the two French artists. An outstanding setting for an exhibition, the iconic address of the House, reinvented in 2022, invites the visitor to discover the dream-like universe of Claude and François-Xavier Lalanne, amid major works such as Grand Mouflon de Pauline, Requin Moyen, Mouton de Laine, Rhinocéros and S’asseoir en forêt, without forgetting a Williamsburg bench. A unique dialogue is underway in the boutique, where a host of singular pieces of art are being exhibited. Ordered and selected specially by Peter Marino and Dior, these include Isa Genzken’s sculptural rose, an aerial installation by designer Paul Cocksedge and floral compositions by Azuma Makoto. An odyssey celebrating the passion for creation in all its forms.