Dior day has designs on celebrating a style icon

Clothes, perfume, make up and now even a cocktail is associated with the fashion house established in Paris by Christian Dior in 1946.

That was the year before his ‘New Look’ collection made the boxy ‘make-do-and-mend’ style of the 1940s look passé and paved the way for style in the 1950s and 60s.

The House of Dior is currently the subject of a huge retrospective exhibition that is drawing crowds to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. If you love frocks, you will be in heaven when visiting ‘Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams’.

And to make the experience extra special the Town House at The Kensington Hotel, at Queen’s Gate, just a five-minute walk from the V&A, is celebrating Dior with an exclusive package for two including exhibition tickets, a three-course meal in the upmarket Town House restaurant and a bespoke Dior-inspired cocktail at its sophisticated K Bar. It costs £200.

Those experiencing their Dior day in style will settle in at the elegant and intimate wood-panelled cocktail bar for an especially created cocktail La Linge Corolle (‘The Flower Line’) named after Dior’s first ever collection. It is a delicious and refreshing twist on the classic ‘French 75’ made from vintage Champagne (Perrier- Jouët ‘Belle- Époque’ 2011) and Martel XO Cognac served in a Waterford crystal flute. If you just want to pop in for the cocktail, it would set you back £45 each.

Then there is an indulgent three-course a la carte lunch or dinner with wine handpicked from their cellar by the expert sommelier. If the Waterford crystal hadn’t given you a clue, then the delicious Irish ingredients that feature in the menu give realisation that the hotel and restaurant’s owners, The Doyle Collection, are steeped in Irish hospitality. Starters included a delicious concoction of crab, apple and watercress served on Guinness brown bread, or seared scallops. The fish dishes are very tempting but there is also generous provision for carnivores and vegetarians. The steaks are excellent and the desserts, including a divine dark chocolate fondant and a simply brilliant pineapple carpaccio were both served with a refreshing raspberry sorbet. The Chateau Fontareche Corbieres was a perfect match.

We had visited the exhibition at the Cromwell Road museum first (South Kensington is the nearest tube station) and were glad that the tickets supplied by the Town House meant we didn’t have to queue too long.

The exhibition features a myriad gowns in rooms that recreate such locations as Blenheim Palace and a French garden. Highlights include the classic ‘Bar Suit’ that launched the name of Dior and the 21st birthday dress he created for Princess Margaret. Dior died in 1957 and the display also looks at the work of his six successors as creative director including Yves Saint-Laurent, the flamboyant John Galliano and the first female (and present) director Italian fashion designer Maria Grazia Chiuri.

The exhibition has been extended until September 1 and on many days is sold out. However, The Dior offering at Town House is available to book until the same date, subject to availability.

So if you want to turn your Dior experience into something that is extra special, visit www.townhousekensington.com or call 020 7589 6300.