The fabulous world of Dior at Harrods
For the festive season of 2022, Dior and Harrods underwent a magical collaboration to bring The fabulous of world of Dior to life. The light installation takeover outside Harrods was pretty impressive and first of its kind, followed by a Dior cafe residing where Laduree and Juliette previously were, and a truly unique exhibition made of actual gingerbread.
Admittedly I wasn’t so eager to visit the cafe, apart from being a bit worn out with these continuous brand collaborations (Harrods has hosted the temporary Fendi, Prada and Jimmy Choo cafe and of course the permanent Tiffany Blue Box Cafe, which by the way was actually one of the best afternoon teas I have had) but I also didn’t expect the cafe to deliver on substance. Though Harrods food hall is incredible with really high quality food, the same can’t be said for the cafes that have resided in this outside space; previously Juliette, it was honestly one of the worst brunches I had which in itself wouldn't have mattered so much (you win some, you lose some) if the price hadn’t been extortionate. Therefore, in similar fashion I was anticipating the Dior cafe to be nice enough but I wasn’t going to hold my breath for the food to be great, and that part was true.
I went along taking my cousins who were eager. I suppose if we hadn’t visited around lunchtime we wouldn’t have ordered the food in the first place as only the desserts were worth trying. I never think twice about spending on food should there be some value gained, but just how overpriced it was for the very minimal and just below average dishes was very disappointing. And not to mention how nearly everything we tried to order wasn’t available, and bearing in mind this was just 12pm, hardly visiting after the afternoon peak rush time. And I know this is going to sound really silly but the devil is in the details after all; the fact that the coffees didn’t come with their branded ‘CD’ logo was also a bit of a let down, especially considering every other brand cafe’s coffees did. Don’t get me wrong I didn’t lose sleep over it, but it’s interesting to be able to differentiate how some brands deliver an exceptional experience over others and what kind of nuances contribute to this. This must be my marketer side coming out.
The culinary experience aside, the cafe itself was designed tastefully as to have been expected; beautifully crafted wooden tables with Dior’s Toile de Jouy carved on them and delicately beautiful tableware which wasn’t underwhelming or too overpowering.
But the real treat was the exhibition itself. This was complementary nor did you need to book, you could just show up and queue to get in and ironically I would rather have paid for this than the cafe. I’ll be honest and say I am not the biggest fan of the latest trend of experiential exhibitions that are booming at the moment (I didn’t really like Frameless as much as so many other people have, but when I went to Dopamine that was so god awful that it made me appreciate Frameless). Most experiential exhibitions are just taking artwork and blowing them up digitally all around you with no clear narrative weaving the experiences together. Call me old fashioned but I really rather admire the original hung on a white wall.
However, when experiential exhibitions are done well, they truly are magical and uplifting which The Fabulous world of Dior is a great testament to. It was evident just how much thought had gone into this from the storytelling, taking viewers on a journey, the multisensory approach and craftsmanship, it was all truly spellbinding. The entire structure having been made from gingerbread added a vibrant texture and dimension to the installations and I loved the actual design, imagination and interplay of colours. It felt like how great exhibitions should feel; enthralling and inspiring.
There was a fab tour guide who talked through the History of the couture house and the meaning behind each installation. Though admittedly we were too raptured in the display to pay attention to every word…
More art and food about town
