DIOR AT BLENHEIM PALACE (WATCH)

Relive the best moments of yesterday’s Dior Cruise 2017 fashion show with this exclusive video.

Guests of Dior were welcomed upon arrival at the Blenheim Palace courtyard by a brass band whose members sported standards decorated with the initials “CD”. Inside, an exhibition had been set up in the great hall to display not only archival documents but also the dresses Mazette, Mexico, Bavardage and six other haute couture creations from the autumn-winter 1954 collection presented by Christian Dior that same year at Blenheim Palace.

The imposing library and the other interconnecting salons were lined with rows and rows of Napoleon III chairs with black velvet seats and gilded backs. The location has lost nothing of the charm of its glorious past, with a screen decorated with an Asian motif of the kind that provided one of the collection’s inspirations, while the very catwalk itself was an endless repeat of hunting scenes that also referenced one of the collection’s motifs. And while Burn the Witch, the latest release from British group Radiohead, may have provided the contemporary soundtrack, the models followed the same route as the original shows of 1954 and 1958.

Before leaving, guests enjoyed afternoon tea in palatial style. Continuing the Paris-Blenheim fusion, the tea was served accompanied by such delicacies as cucumber sandwiches and macarons decorated with candied roses.

"Invest in the brand!"