Christian Dior: The New Look

Did you know there was another world war after World War II? It brought the American and British government into the fashion world. They were faced against Christian Dior and The New Look of 1947. As he brought out the infamous hourglass figure on to runways, it sparked a fire in pop culture. The look gave women around the world femininity and featured their cinched waist, accented bust and fulfillment pleated skirt. With the launch of Door’s first collection, in February 1947, he turned the fashion world upside down with a bold stroke.

Christian Dior (19051957) founder of Dior Company, commonly known for selling French luxurious goods was a very gifted man. As Europe was overcoming the horrors of World War II, Dior presented his very first collection to the press at 42. After 6 horrible years of women wearing gloomy, tasteless clothes, Dior wanted to give them their taste back with lightheartedness and the art of seduction. The style of the suits and dresses focuses on soft shoulders, a sleepyheads bodice, a narrow waist, and a full skirt flaring out from the hips to touch the medical.

The deteriorating of Harpers Bazaar Caramel Snow had extreme faith in the designer as she exclaimed, “It’s quite a revolution, dear Christian! Your dresses have such a new look! ” at his first show. She then cabled the brilliant slogan to her editor, and within two days, it caused shock waves to pass through both sides of the Atlantic. Women all around the world raced to have this fashionable, elegant suit made for themselves. America and Britain were not happy because during the war, there were government regulations that dictated men and omens fashion.

Women were given a lean, boyish silhouette 10 years prior to WI and now the women’s figure had become exaggerated and glorified. The material needed for the skirts and coats were excessive amounts and you would need several yards of fabric Just to make the petticoat. American and British government tried to persuade women not to wear The New Look and many women criticized it by saying it was wasteful, expensive and unpatriotic. Britain had tried to deny it existed and their government banned Vogue from publishing about The New Look or

Dior in the world renown fashion magazine. In France, Britain and the US, if you were found wearing The New Look, on the street you would be harassed if you were an early wearer. In America, there was disapproval of the very idea of importing from abroad. Not only did the government fight back towards Dior, but citizens started to do the same. While Dior was on his American tour to promote his line, he was pushed away from the Chicago train station by angry housewives who were holding signs up saying things like “Burn Monsieur Dior! “, “Christian Dior go home! . He had similar encounters in Louisville, Loadable, and Georgia. But there were few exceptions. The British Embassy held a secret session in Paris in 1947, where Princess Margaret was shown Door’s creations for her and her sister for social events. The New Look had soon become about opulence and wealth, and though only the opulent could wear it, he brought color after the dark days of the war Just using a few strokes of a pencil. As Dior lived his golden years from 1947 to 1957, he had evolutionism fashion and brought back elegance to the fashion industry.

Though The New Look was extremely controversial and expensive, it went world wide within one short week. By spring of 1948, The New Look had worked its seductive charms and the extravagant dresses were absolutely everywhere. The New Look slowly grew on both Britain and the US as it proved that it was making citizens happier and giving out Jobs. “Women, with their sure instincts, realized that my intention was to make them not just more beautiful but also happier,” Dior later said.