inspirations beyond oneself

As for tomorrow, you will not see me anymore”

– Dior

Sometimes, people find inspiration from within themselves while others do not. At times, flowers, shades, a bird’s songs, or the sound of a continuous oceanic wave can be good inspiration. Dior, one of the greatest fashion designers of all times, finds that his surroundings inspire him effectively. He would find himself surrounded by multifold of samples from his suppliers, letting his imagination plays with those fascinating fabrics delivered from a variety of places. Andre Levasseur, one of Dior’s closest collaborators, once stated that Dior would isolated himself in a room after his stay in the south of France before the birth of new collection can be witnessed. Moreover, Dior cares about the models too. He would carefully consider every choices of material until the best is chosen. This is a good example of how designers find inspiration outside themselves.

In reality, everything is limited. Constraints will always be there, in whatever you do. However, if you perceive things differently, limitation is challenging. Inspiration can be conceived from other sources than oneself. For instance, Dior was somehow bounded with the limitation of samples and time expected by the suppliers. Nevertheless, he took advantages of that by using whatever he was provided at its best. Amazingly, it often turns out excellent and we all witness it with our eyes. This can be say that even constraints can be inspirations too, if one wants to.

Inspiration is everywhere. You just need to find them.

Quoted from:

Christian Dior, The early years 1947-1957 by Esmeralda de Rethy and Jean-Louise Perreau, 2001

Pictures from:

V&A images - http://www.vandaimages.com/index.asp