Of all the great Parisian haute couture houses, Dior is perhaps the most famous and prestigious in the world, embodying Christian Dior’s sublime vision of femininity. After Yves Saint Laurent and Marc Bohan, both of whom were hired by Christian Dior himself, Italian couturier Gianfranco Ferré, a graduate in architecture from the Polytechnic of Milan, was chosen in 1989 as the new artistic director of the house of Dior. Ferré’s odes to the essence of Christian Dior’s style helped cement the iconography of the house for a new era. Known for his sense of architecture, his love of feminine silhouettes, extravagance and opulence in bold colours and sumptuous fabrics and dynamic draping, Ferré redefined the notion of “Dior” as a style, a code, a spirit. This beautiful volume showcases Gianfranco Ferré’s most iconic haute couture designs for Dior, from the Fall/Winter 1989 Ascot-Cecil Beaton collection to the Fall/Winter 1996 Indian Passion collection. Fashion journalist Alexander Fury eloquently explores Ferré’s vision for balancing his own taste and that of Christian Dior, reinterpreting Dior’s elegant style for the 1990s and a new generation of fashion customers and observers. Dior by Gianfranco Ferré is the fourth volume in an unprecedented book series dedicated to each designer of the house of Dior – the definitive compendium of the most memorable haute couture creations conceived and handcrafted by the renowned haute couture house since its inception. Carefully curated in the world’s great museums and institutions, these fashion treasures have been lovingly photographed by Laziz Hamani and compiled exclusively for this indispensable collection.