Outline
As early as the 1930’s Dior building was the best fashion house in the world and still is today with very many of its brands in various parts. It was established by fashion guru Christian Dior after the Second World War 11 as a worldwide brand with several products. Many of the products at the beginning were mainly clothes that were important particularly after the war since Dior realized that it was vital for a new look after the Second World War. After which he ventured into other beauty products. Dior house’s first products were Belle Époque worn with long skirts because they were some of the dresses that Christian’s mother wore in the early 1990s. Unfortunately, the owner of Dior, Christian passed away but it did not mean the end of his hard work but the management was taken up by Madame Zehnmacker (Cicero, L. 1994; 7).
Dior building is one of the most splendid and designer houses in the world belonging to the fashion guru Christian Dior. It is tall, regal and modest magnificence that goes beyond the price, quality, and value and with varying architectural decors. Dior building itself is wrapped in translucent glass that allows a clear view of the floors beneath achieved by using glass on the outside and the inside is the acrylic aluminum. For over forty years Dior building has brought many people to New York from various places around the world. It creates timeless pieces that have both a youthful appeal and old that leave them with a lasting gaze. It’s enthralling scents, handbags, women wear, accessories and men’s wear all years in and out and they can be found in departmental stores all over the world.
This paper will discuss the representation and the metaphor of the Dior building.
Significance of Dior building
With the increasing number of fashion houses in the growing economic sector, the Dior was not left out. This building is found in New York but has a variety of stores in different countries like one is in Japan. The one in New York represents a splendid fashion house with a wide range of wears for all ages and genders. Designed by two architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa commonly called (SANAA). It is spotless white covering the whole trapezoidal area with shape edges. The creation of this building was stirred by crucial splendor in the fashion industry the Couture dress. Standing at the height of 30 meters tall. The white color signifies the magnificence that is determined by the light during daytime and light saturation at night. The white horizontal aluminum brands represent the continuous division of the building into various uneven segments. Whereas the slender white box illustrates the sophistication of femininity that allows it to stand out distinctively. It is also an air of ambiguity that welcomes people from all parts of the world to a step in the magnificence world of fashion. Various floors are linked by the stare core that has a glass tower standing out from the basement to the top of the building. The interior décor is designed with wooden panels, romance, ceilings that are molded, and a traditional Dior that contrasts with modern glazed walls. The interior of the building is a different world that awaits disclosure. Instead of the eight floors of boutique space perceived from outside, there is only one basement floor and five floors above the ground. The basement and the first three floors are devoted to the various retail lines under the Dior umbrella; there is one multi-purpose occasion’s space on the fourth floor and a rooftop garden above (Eisenman, et al, 1998: 78). Each retail line with the Dior building has got its own name and unique ambiance. Ladieswear and accessories are mainly located on the second floor. The third floor is mainly for general beauty with the theme of backstage that is customers and those admiring the products experience the runway of the Dior fashion show and an opportunity to test new products in the beauty industry such as nails and skincare products (Fishman, R.1977: 14). Inside is an underground floor that is the Dior Homme store used for particular designs like the white lacquer, black lacquer plisse, polished metal, black stone floor, strip lighting and fitting room. These are traditional designs of Dior but they have been integrated into a more modern design and shopping house. The polished metal is used in series to indicate the reflective facade within the building (Hearn, M.1981; 7).
The Dior plisse is used to represent the architectural feature of black lacquer bands. The graphic element is depicted by the light within the corridors, floors and ceilings. The fitting room is an interaction room and image analysis area. It represents the notion of time management and self-awareness. The fitting mirrors commonly called dressing rooms depicts projection area with cameras and videos where pictures of the person within the building appear on graphic screens (Conrad, U. 1990; 4-7).
Metaphorical representation of Dior building
The metaphoric with this building is being an umbrella, feminine and the misinterpretation of floors and the reason behind is an enlargement of space from the necessary 1.5 meters to a larger height that suits all the fascia composition. SANNA articulated and competently integrated all the features to create a slender building to a required maximum height that is supported by a changeable degree of transparency and the mechanical spaces are not clear. By an umbrella, the building houses several stores with major in fashion but different products and designs (Hays, K1998; 9).
The building is feminine in the sense that its interior is assorted with thermoformed acrylic hangings that are able to manifest a consistent image and able to provoke customers’ imagination while shopping. From inside looking at the cityscape one is able to see a fairyland overwhelmed by white fluffy clouds (Cicero, L. 1994; 7). This is a building where one can experience a lifetime shopping spree.
References
- Cicero, L.TransHarry Caplan. Cambridge, MA, 1994;
- Conrad, U. Programs and Manifestoes on 20th-Century Architecture. Trans. Michael Bullock. Cambridge, MA, 1990, 4-7
- Rigid-Core High-Rise Buildings.” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 50: 68–71.
- Hearn, M. Romanesque Sculpture: The Revival of Monumental Stone Sculpture in the Eleventh and Twelfth Century.1981; 7
- Hays, K. Architecture Theory since 1968.Cambridge, MA, 1998; 9
- Fishman, R. Urban Utopias in the Twentieth Century: Ebenezer Howard, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Le Corbusier. Cambridge, MA, 1977: 14
- Hart et, al. Paper Palaces: TheRise of the Renaissance Architectural Treatise. New Haven, 1998:85
- Eisenman, et al.Houses of Cards. New York, 1987:78
- Ghirardo, D. Architecture after Modernism. London.1996:10
- Gideon, S. Space, Time and Architecture: The Growth of a New Tradition. Cambridge, MA.1991:71