However, as is the way with most great things, like avocado toast and voting in a Premier that can backflip better than Simone Biles, Sydney did it first.

Sydney was the first city to which Christian Dior entrusted his collections back in 1948, where the first Dior show outside of Paris was held at David Jones, in the famous "On Seven". The grand event space on the seventh floor of the Elizabeth Street was referred to as "The Great Restaurant" when a state banquet was held for the Queen during her visit in 1954. The refurbished venue is now better known for the biannual fashion launches and parade of Jesinta Campbell's abs.

Back in 1948 Dior shipped out more than 50 original garments to the department store via a Lancastrian plane. The dresses and accessories were modelled for society ladies by local "mannequins", including etiquette expert June Dally-Watkins, after they "proved that their waists were around the 20 inch [50 centimetre] mark," the Herald reported at the time.

Explaining his reasoning for allowing his sought-after wares across the equator, Dior described Australia to the Herald as, "a young country relatively unscathed by war, something that made the land the perfect place to showcase my designs".

Sixty-eight years on from the groundbreaking event Dior is coming back Down Under, but is instead heading to the world-renowned NGV. The owner of Dior, LVMH, will entrust more than 140 pieces of couture spanning the brand's 70-year history to the gallery – a huge coup and testament to the curators down south. DJs will foot the majority of the hefty bill as a "principal partner".

Given this venture follows hot on the heels of the department store's announcement it's upping stumps and moving head office to Melbourne, Sydneysiders need not worry this latest project is a sign the department store is playing favourites.

"We're investing heavily in Sydney," chief operating officer and group executive marketing David Thomas reassured The Sun-Herald. "It's the heart of David Jones and we're looking to continue to invest, you've seen Barangaroo with new customers, new offerings and new food, and we'll be investing in our Bondi store," he said.

"We are very clear that Sydney is our key market and we've got to make sure that we keep a key focus on this market here and that's why we are investing first and foremost, and so significantly, in the Elizabeth Street store."

David Jones will be spending up to $200 million in NSW alone next year and the Bondi Junction outlet will be the first in the country to get a taste of the new food offerings that will be served up.

Despite Premier Mike Baird's attempts to transform Sydney into an adult kindergarten with things like watered down lockout laws, David Jones is keen to work with our cultural institutions to one day bring an exhibition of Dior's calibre back to town.

"We're open to all discussions," Thomas said. "We do participate in a lot of this city's festivals and we're a big part of the fabric here in Sydney. If some of the other cultural and arts bodies ask us to participate, we're all open ears and we do actively seek a lot of those projects out."