What’s Happening: It’s something of a rite of passage for upstart, New York–based fashion labels to start showing in Paris rather than on their home turf. But the spending power of the U.S. market is drawing Dior’s parent company, LVMH, to this side of the Atlantic.

The Download: There are few Parisian fashion houses as synonymous with the U.S. as Dior. In 2021, “Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams” journeyed to Brooklyn after stints at the V&A and Musée des Arts Décoratifs. The show chronicled the rise of Dior since Harper’s Bazaar editor and through-and-through New Yorker Carmel Snow christened the designer’s New Look as such. From there, Dior became a fast favorite of Americans from New York to San Francisco, as documented in the de Young museum’s ongoing exhibition “Fashioning San Francisco.” The show even displays two archival couture gowns that Dior sent to the city’s department store I. Magnin & Company to jumpstart San Francisco’s fashion economy in the aftermath of World War II.

Fast forward a couple years and now the fashion house has become especially close with the Brooklyn Museum. For two years in a row, Dior has been a major sponsor of the museum’s spring Artist Ball gala. This year’s event was held last week and honored Titus Kaphar. Art-world luminaries Marina Abramović, Kehinde Wiley, and Mickalene Thomas were among those who joined Dior creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri at the event, which has raised more than $3 million since it took place last Tuesday. The creative director has been on a whirlwind tour of New York in the past couple of weeks: in addition to the Artists Ball, she was an honoree of Project for Empty Space’s Badass ArtWomen Awards, and while she was not present at the New Museum Gala, its benefit auction of Thomas’s Dior Lady Art 8 bag fetched an eye-watering sum.

On Monday, of course, the designer’s stint in New York culminated with Dior’s Pre-Fall show at the Brooklyn Museum’s soaring Beaux Arts court. The fashion house has taken to breaking out of Paris for its between-season shows—last year it staged a runway extravaganza in Mumbai for pre-fall, and its far-flung resort shows are the stuff of legend in editors’ circles. Brooklyn may not be anybody’s idea of a tropical getaway, but New York City represents a key foothold for the brand: according to WSJ, the U.S. market was responsible for 25 percent of LVMH’s $93.34 billion in revenue last year.

In Their Own Words: "Our partnership with Dior is truly special,” Brooklyn Museum director Anne Pasternak tells Surface. “We were proud to host ‘Dior: Designer of Dreams’ in 2021, which was one of our most beloved exhibitions of all time. Since then, our partnership has flourished, including their support of our Artists Ball for the second consecutive year and the successful unveiling of their pre-fall 2024 collection earlier this week. As a longtime admirer of fashion trailblazer Maria Grazia Chiuri and her creative brilliance and bold vision, it has been so wonderful to watch this relationship grow.”

Surface Says: The strategy of it all is commendable, yet we can’t help but notice that few are commenting on the ostensible reason for this stateside marketing blitz: the collection itself.

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London’s posh Marylebone neighborhood is known for its preponderance of chic hotels, charming townhomes, and its proximity to both Soho and Savile Row’s world-class shopping. What it isn’t usually known for is its likeness to the riviera towns that dot the Côte d’Azur. While the dreary weather patterns aren’t changing anytime soon, a step into the warm, limewashed interiors of Mimosa is almost enough to evoke the scenography of its namesake: the acacia blooms that cascade over Southern France’s coastal hills.

Summery interiors by Dorothée Delaye pay homage to Mimosa’s sister restaurant in Paris. Fig trees and mod furniture compliment hues of sandstone and oceanic green-blues, and a shade of ocher reminiscent of the namesake bloom are transportive. That’s to say nothing of the menu, whose seafood options like bream, bouchot mussels, and yellowfin tuna steak, which conjure images of leisurely meals during a seaside getaway.

Through their industrial design partnership that reaches from Hong Kong to Istanbul, Bodin Hon and Dilara Kan team up with artisans and craftsmen to create tools for everyday living but imbued with moments of joy and surprise. The duo behind Studio Yellowdot also strives to use materials as efficiently as possible, employing textile offcuts and eggshells from food waste across product categories like furniture, tableware, lighting, wall coverings, and eyewear. Don’t miss their latest debut, the pastel-hued Patisserie Collection in collaboration with Gorbon Ceramics, which will be on view at Spazio Rossana Orlandi through Milan Design Week.

It’s not just you; this year’s edition of Milan Design Week is bigger and better than ever. At the center of it all is Salone del Mobile, which draws an international crowd of professionals, industry experts, and insiders out to the Rho fairgrounds. While there’s no shortage of must-see goings-on around town, ticket holders have access to some of the most highly anticipated installations, talks, and exhibitions from the convenience of Rho.

“Our intention was very specific,” Salone del Mobile president Maria Porro tells Surface. “Quality and cultural value have been in the Salone DNA since its beginnings in 1961. We aspired to showcase them more than ever. Our goal is for visitors to live an enriching experience at the Salone, thanks to the commitment of over 1,950 partners.” This year’s biggest headliners include former Surface cover stars Hans Ulrich Obrist and David Lynch, as well as venerable figures in the culture sphere like Formafantasma, Triennale Milano, and the Design Museum.

Last week, Long Island City’s destination for sculpture drew New Yorkers from the other four boroughs to Queens for a cocktail party, dinner, and after party. The evening honored sculptor Thaddeus Mosley and his seven-decade career in the medium, along with patron Eleanor Heyman Propp. CFGNY provided artistic direction for a rollicking after-party that featured performances by LYDO, Miho Hatori, and Word of Command. During the gala, guests toasted the Elaine Graham Weitzen Commissioning Fund for Emerging Artists—made possible by a $1,000,000 endowment from the late patron’s eponymous foundation.

When was it? April 11

Where was it? SculptureCenter, New York

Who was there? Anicka Yi, Diane Severin Nguyen, Kelly Akashi, Ashley James, Tolia Astakhishvili, Hugh Hayden, Jessica Beck, Mary Mitsch, Courtney Willis Blair, and more.

Vitra is a Swiss furniture company, known worldwide for creating innovative products with iconic designers. Vitra’s catalog includes furniture, lighting, and objects from midcentury titans Charles and Ray Eames, George Nelson, Verner Panton, Alexander Girard, and Jean Prouvé, as well as works from Antonio Citterio, Jasper Morrison, Alberto Meda, and Hella Jongerius. Vitra products are installed worldwide in living, working, and public spaces that inspire comfort, engagement, and productivity.

Surface Says: The Swiss furniture brand’s eye for comfort, sleekness, and versatility makes it a standout in a crowded market of beloved brands. Through their collaborations with the industry’s top minds, Vitra goes the extra mile.

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