MAKE A MEME
View Large Image
| View Original: | Christian_Dior's_1947_'Bar_Suit'_(the_'New_Look'_silhouette)_illustrated_by_René_Gruau.jpg (613x753) | |||
| Download: | Original | Medium | Small | Thumb |
| Courtesy of: | www.flickr.com | More Like This | ||
| Keywords: christian dior christiandior rené gruau renégruau illustration new look newlook bar suit barsuit 1947 (Credit: All rights belong to the illustrator) Conisdered the most iconic piece in Christian Dior's 1947 Spring-Summer eponymous début collection, the 'Bar Suit' was quickly dubbed the 'New Look' by Harper Bazaar's editor-in-chief, Carmel Snow, when she observed, “It's such a new look!”; the moniker has adhered ever since & the 'New Look' has become the cornerstone of the House of Dior. This new wasp-waisted, hip-padded silhouette of rounded shoulders & very full skirts, arriving as it did soon after the end of the Second World War, repudiated the form-hugging, slender bias-cut styles of the 1930s (pioneered & epitomized by Madame Vionnet) and continued wartime austerity measures & restrictions, which included textile consumption; in fact, it was considered scandalous & there was some real hostility shown towards this ultra-feminine look (the skirt of which, in the lean post-war rationing years which, as in the United Kingdom, remained in effect into the mid-1950s, required tens of yards of fabric to manufacture) which was deemed shockingly decadent & wasteful - a veritable affront to sensible (wartime & post-war) frugality. It may seem an inconceivable reaction today, but it was not uncommon for French women, for instance, to retaliate by literally attacking & tearing a 'New Look' ensemble or dress into shreds from a wearer's back, on sight; anti-New Look protests were also staged. As the creator of the 'New Look' silhouette, Christian Dior himself faced similar animosity & ridicule, both at home & abroad. (Coco Chanel was among the most vociferous in her condemnation. Nestled in comfortable retirement in Lausanne, Switzerland, at the time & seething, she railed acidically against the new silhouette & derided its creator and his corseted creations: “Dior? He doesn’t dress women, he upholsters them!” is one remark that typically & succinctly summed up her opinion; it was largely due to the success of the 'New Look' & the eventual meteoric rise of Dior, that compelled Chanel to abandon her 10-year retirement & to re-open her Maison & ateliers once again, launching her comeback collection in February 1954. The utter simplicity of Chanel's post-war, understated aesthetic can be deemed as a direct, antithetical response to that of Dior's & his ilk.) The revolutionary look was nearly the cause of riots. It can be said, however, that Dior's 'New Look' marked a paradigm shift in mid-20th century fashion. (Credit: All rights belong to the illustrator) Conisdered the most iconic piece in Christian Dior's 1947 Spring-Summer eponymous début collection, the 'Bar Suit' was quickly dubbed the 'New Look' by Harper Bazaar's editor-in-chief, Carmel Snow, when she observed, “It's such a new look!”; the moniker has adhered ever since & the 'New Look' has become the cornerstone of the House of Dior. This new wasp-waisted, hip-padded silhouette of rounded shoulders & very full skirts, arriving as it did soon after the end of the Second World War, repudiated the form-hugging, slender bias-cut styles of the 1930s (pioneered & epitomized by Madame Vionnet) and continued wartime austerity measures & restrictions, which included textile consumption; in fact, it was considered scandalous & there was some real hostility shown towards this ultra-feminine look (the skirt of which, in the lean post-war rationing years which, as in the United Kingdom, remained in effect into the mid-1950s, required tens of yards of fabric to manufacture) which was deemed shockingly decadent & wasteful - a veritable affront to sensible (wartime & post-war) frugality. It may seem an inconceivable reaction today, but it was not uncommon for French women, for instance, to retaliate by literally attacking & tearing a 'New Look' ensemble or dress into shreds from a wearer's back, on sight; anti-New Look protests were also staged. As the creator of the 'New Look' silhouette, Christian Dior himself faced similar animosity & ridicule, both at home & abroad. (Coco Chanel was among the most vociferous in her condemnation. Nestled in comfortable retirement in Lausanne, Switzerland, at the time & seething, she railed acidically against the new silhouette & derided its creator and his corseted creations: “Dior? He doesn’t dress women, he upholsters them!” is one remark that typically & succinctly summed up her opinion; it was largely due to the success of the 'New Look' & the eventual meteoric rise of Dior, that compelled Chanel to abandon her 10-year retirement & to re-open her Maison & ateliers once again, launching her comeback collection in February 1954. The utter simplicity of Chanel's post-war, understated aesthetic can be deemed as a direct, antithetical response to that of Dior's & his ilk.) The revolutionary look was nearly the cause of riots. It can be said, however, that Dior's 'New Look' marked a paradigm shift in mid-20th century fashion. | ||||
_illustrated_by_René_Gruau.jpg){kind=link}