Youki Kasahara

In the heart of every exile there’s a place they call home . Some languages have a word for the longing for home. But that longing is defined by each human heart and we may have as many homelands as we want.

My odyssey in search of Christian Dior began with KYOTOGRAPHIE 2025.
And image of a woman stylishly draped in a cloak, within a simple frame that had hung on the walls of a family villa during my childhood.

The faded frame hung on the walls of the house, perched on a sunny hillside, It seemed had been there for over half a century. I never questioned its provenance during my childhood and when the house was sold, it disappeared. Then, one day in early summer 2025 several storage boxes were delivered to my home and I reunited with the familiar frame and stunning picture.

The woman wore Dior.

The frame had been carefully wrapped, yet as I moved the fasteners to remove the backing board an envelope fell to the floor. The sender was Christian Dior.
The family story unrolled and I became determined to make my contribution to the history of this picture and my family.

I flew to France with every roll of film, camera, and piece of equipment I possessed this summer to trace the creative origins of Monsieur Christian Dior, founder of the house that captivates women worldwide, from his FURUSATO in Normandy to his continuing presence in fashion today.

The long journey to understand through photography and film, began here at KYOTOGRAPHIE.