collection created by desinger Raf Simons for the House of Dior is sure to be the highlight of the week. Just as Christian Dior’s fist collection was in his day
The date was February 12, 1947. In the salons of his house at 30, avenue Montaigne, Christian Dior presented his first collection of Haute Couture. Its impact was resounding and the enthusiasm of the international press, immediate. Let’s turn back the clock for a moment and dive into the reviews of the time, in Vogue, L’Officiel, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, The New York Herald Tribune, Femina, L’Art et la mode, and others. Below is an imaginary review, compiled from real articles published at the time.
Presentation at Christian Dior. The first reaction: stupefaction; the second: enthusiasm; the third: raves; the fourth: despair at not being in the image of this show oneself…. Anxious eyes glance at hemlines to see whether they might be lengthened. A new woman is born, with a surprising silhouette. Buyers and journalists who have traveled from around the world are witnessing, dazed and transported, a fashion revolution. The women in the audience are realizing that they are going to be obliged to renew their entire wardrobe, while the men, who don’t have the same concern, simply admire without reserve! Upon arriving Marlene Dietrich tells actor Marcel Herrand about how she managed to elude the photographer who was tailing her. Upon leaving, distracted by what she has just seen, the actress forgets that she no longer wanted to let herself be caught in candid photos.
The feminine ideal is transformed. Strangled – figuratively, of course — by a belt, the waist is nipped tightly to show the ripeness of the bust and hips. To emphasize the bust, what could be more charming than little mantles, short boleros and light, floaty capes? To further refine the waist, there are darts, ribbing and supple belts. As if by magic, the hips appear. They must be curvy, or else become so thanks to clever padding in the jacket’s peplum: with Christian Dior’s new silhouette, the prestige of Paris has regained its former stature.
The ‘agent provocateur’ and hero of the day is the couturier Dior. His house is definitely the sensation of the season ans has stepped into a top place which means that he is a style-setter and “what he says goes.”
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