Christian Dior was a master at creating shapes and silhouettes: Dior is quoted as saying ‘I have designed flower women.’...
Read on
Last update at 06 · 07 · by milo
‧‧‧ One of 392Christian Dior was a master at creating shapes and silhouettes: Dior is quoted as saying ‘I have designed flower women.’
His look employed fabrics lined predominantly with percale, boned, bustier-style bodices, hip padding, wasp-waisted corsets and petticoats that made his dresses flare out from the waist, giving his models a very curvaceous form.
The actual name of the line of Christian Dior’s first collection, presented on 12 February 1947, was Corolle (literally the botanical term corolla or circlet of flower petals in English), but the phrase New Look was coined for it by Carmel Snow, the editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar. Dior’s designs were more voluptuous than the boxy, fabric-conserving shapes of the recent World War II styles, influenced by the rations on fabric.
Women are most fascinating between the ages of 35 and 40 after they have won a few races and know how to pace themselves. Since few women ever pass 40, maximum fascination can continue indefinitely.
― Christian Dior
On 8 December 1946, with Boussac’s backing, Christian Dior founded his Dior fashion house.
Prior Marcel Boussac invited Dior to design for Philippe et Gaston, a Paris fashion house launched in 1925.
Dior refused, wishing to make a fresh start under his own name rather than reviving an old brand.