When Christian Dior introduced his New Look in 1947, it was not the product of decades in the trenches as a fashion designer. Rather, Dior’s famous postwar collection marked his professional debut.
Which is not to say that the collection was purely a case of beginner’s luck. Dior had been in the Paris fashion world for years, including productive stints as assistants to Robert Piguet and Lucien Lélong. By the time he opened his own couture house in 1946, he was already 41 years old.
Dior called his first collection Corolle, which was French for flower petals. Indeed, compared to the boxy, utilitarian, World War II fashions that had dominated the 1940s, Dior’s collection was a bouquet of bounty, with yards upon yards of fabric lavished on just one dress. The fashion press was smitten, with “Harper’s Bazaar” being the first to call it the New Look...
In fact, there was much that was not new at all about Dior’s breakthrough. Some have detected 1860s French influences, while Dior himself said that the collection reminded him of the clothes his mother had worn to the races when he was a young boy.
Though the fashion press fawned over Dior (“Vogue” covered him obsessively until his death in 1957), many Europeans were shocked by the excessive use of material at a time when fabric was still being rationed. Others resented the ornamentation of women—fellow Parisian Coco Chanel dismissed Dior’s look as the equivalent of dressing women up like armchairs.
Perhaps in deference to his critics, Dior’s subsequent collections were more pared down. For example, his A-line dresses, whose silhouette resembled the letter A, were signatures of the casual, unfussy 1950s.
After Dior’s death, Yves Saint Laurent, who had been a design assistant with the firm, was named chief designer, even though he was only 21. Within two years Marc Bohan had replaced Saint Laurent, and he stayed at that post for 28 years, longer than Dior himself had been at the helm of his own company.
Italian designer Gianfranco Ferre followed Bohan, but the next designer to make his mark on Dior was a Brit, John Galliano, who arrived at Dior in 1996. Many critics believe Galliano has best understood Dior’s unique aesthetic.
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My Fashion Life, May 17thAlthough we wanted to be greedy and profile her every look so far, we chose the one that particularly stood out for us; a strapless floral-embroidered dress from the Christian Dior Spring 2013 Couture collection she wore to the The Great Gatsby...Read more
Cannes 2013: Carey Mulligan Wears Dreamy Christian Dior Couture Dress
LOOK, May 16thCarey Mulligan didn't let a spot of rain ruin her red carpet moment last night. The Great Gatsby star kicked off the 66th Cannes Film Festival wearing a dreamy blush pink satin gown by Christian Dior Couture, giving us serious wardrobe envy. The v-neck...Read more
Designer golf bags, crystal table lamps, his-and-hers Christian Dior bathrobes ...
The Independent, April 27thbag worth $7,750, two Baccarat crystal table lamps on silver pedestals worth $5,500, two Baccarat crystal statuettes depicting golfers, a monogrammed black leather Louis Vuitton business bag, his-and-hers Christian Dior bathrobes and a black...Read more
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4-traders (press release), April 26thIn accordance with the decision taken by the Board of Directors on December 20, 2012 under the authorization given by the Combined Shareholders' Meeting of October 26, 2012, Christian Dior (Paris:CDI) today announced that it has entered into a forward...Read more
The Many Impressions of Christian Dior
Style.com, April 25thThis Saturday marks the opening of the Impressionist Festival in Normandy, France, and Granville's Christian Dior Museum is getting in on the action. On May 4, the museum will bow Impressions Dior—an exhibit that pays homage to the nineteenth-century...Read more
Christian Dior Seeks $700 Million in Credit, Juicy Couture Faces Public ...
Fashionista, April 19thA group of protesters caused a scene outside Juicy Couture yesterday, claiming the retailer demoted its full-time workers to part-time in order to avoid paying benefits. {WWD, subscription required}. Christian Dior is reportedly seeking to replace its...Read more
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E! Online, April 18thWhich of TV's most famous best friends wore it best? The ensemble is Christian Dior, though Girls star Allison Williams rocked the mini dress version while Friends alum Jennifer Aniston opted for short-shorts. It pains us to say this, but Williams may...Read more
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Bloomberg, April 18thChristian Dior SA, the French luxury goods maker, is seeking to replace a 535 million-euro ($700 million) credit line, according to three people with knowledge of the matter. The company wants to raise a five-year facility to replace the loan it...Read more
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