Dior museum celebrates dandies

0 Comments | AFP, May, 2008

GRANVILLE, France (AFP) — Legendary dandy Oscar Wilde once declared "One should either be a work of art or wear a work of art," a sentiment endorsed by designer Christian Dior, who acknowledged dandyism as a significant influence on his fashion.

The Dior family home, now a museum, on the Normandy coast at Granville, this week opened an exhibition celebrating dandyism in all its manifestations that will last through the summer.

One of the star exhibits is a white shirt belonging to Wilde, dating from when he was living in penniless exile in a seedy Paris hotel after his disgrace, under an assumed name which was a cryptic allusion to his homosexuality.

Lent by his only grandson, biographer Christopher Holland, it was one of the items of clothing he wore up to...