FIDM Museum Blog

Christian Dior New York evening gown, c. 1953-55

Christian Dior's New Look, introduced in February 1947, was a dramatic turning point. Banishing the boxy suits and dresses of the World War II era, the New Look ushered in an era of exaggerated femininity. Based on shapely curves and contours, and using an extravagant amount of fabric, Dior's New Look appealed to consumers starved for luxury after the deprivations of World War II. The silhouette was instantly popular, and Maison Dior struggled to fulfill orders. Based on the spectacular success of this first collection, Dior and his business partners began enacting plans for international expansion. Eventually, Dior would open retail outlets in London, Venezuela, and New York.

Evening gown (bodice detail)
Christian Dior New York
c. 1953-55
Gift of Anonymous Donor
2003.40.31

Fashion birthday: Cristobal Balenciaga and Christian Dior

Two of the twentieth-century's greatest couturiers were born today, January 21. In 1895, Cristobal Balenciaga was born in Getaria, Spain. Ten years later, Christian Dior was born in Granville, Normandy, France. In addition to sharing a birthday, Balenciaga and Dior were both masters of their craft, creating extraordinary garments and influencing generations of designers. In celebration of their respective birthdays, careers and legacy, we're sharing previously unseen images of each designer's work.

Cristobal Balenciaga
1958
Silk matelassé
Transfer from the Museum at FIT
2004.291.10

To see other Cristobal Balenciaga pieces from our collection, click here.

Christian Dior
c. 1955
Silk satin
Gift of Mary Coquillard
97.196.1

To see other Christian Dior pieces in the FIDM Museum collection, click here.

 

Gloves in the 20th century

 

In contemporary fashion, gloves are generally overlooked. Warm knitted gloves keep our hands warm in winter, while sturdy canvas or leather gloves protect our hands during gardening or construction projects. Protective gloves (or sometimes mittens) fill an important role, but because they are primarily utilitarian, function often trumps design. Though brightly colored winter gloves are often cheerfully appealing, they aren't worn just for their appearance; if they aren't warm enough, you'll probably purchase a different pair. When was the last time you wore a pair of gloves simply because their elegance was overwhelming?

Evening gloves
c. 1952
Christian Dior, designer
Lionel Legrand, maker
Leather, rhinestone, bugle beads & sequins
Museum Purchase
2006.5.4AB

Marc Bohan for Christian Dior, c. 1966

 

Marc Bohan for Christian Dior
c. 1966
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. George Sidney
S2001.27.1

When Marc Bohan presented his first haute couture collection for Christian Dior in 1961, the New York Times reported pandemonium: "the shouting, clapping, surging mob at the press showing caused chaos in the elegant salon. M. Bohan was...kissed, mauled, and congratulated. Chairs were toppled."¹ Bohan's collection was inspired by the 1920s, and featured short chiffon dresses with dropped waists and double-breasted jackets with a straight line. The enthusiastic reception to Bohan's collection signaled not only approval of his designs, but also relief that the most influential house in the haute couture was making a comeback after the rocky years of Yves Saint Laurent's tenure. Appointed head designer for Dior after the founding designer's death in 1957, the young and mercurial Saint Laurent's first collection for Dior was warmly received. But Saint Laurent's 1960 "Beatnik" collection, which featured leather skirts and black turtlenecks, was too much for the women who patronized the haute couture. In contrast, Bohan was an experienced designer, who had worked in the haute couture since 1945. His first position was at Robert Piguet, though he soon moved to Molyneux, later becoming head designer at Maison Patou.

Adrian resists the New Look

 

In 1948, when the fashion world was atwitter with talk of Christian Dior's New Look, renowned American designer Adrian took fashion lovers to task for their over reliance on the dictates of Paris. Though the New Look had already created a radical break with the military-inspired fashions of the World War II era, Adrian insisted that a women shouldn't feel out-of-date or unfashionable simply because her suit was six months old: "Whether a woman buys an expensive or inexpensive suit one season, she doesn't like to be called an 'antique' six months later."¹ Unlike Christian Dior, who promoted extravagantly full skirts for day and evening, Adrian preferred a slim silhouette for daytime fashions, reserving full skirted looks for evening. This 1948 Adrian suit demonstrates the designer's preference for a strong shoulder and straight skirt.

Two-piece suit
Gilbert Adrian
1948
Gift of the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising
77.25.2AB

Virevolte suit, Christian Dior, Autumn/Winter 1955

 

One of the most celebrated figures in the history of fashion, Christian Dior's reputation was founded on the New Look. Introduced in 1947, the New Look silhouette presented an idealized vision of the female body: soft, sloped shoulders and defined waist accented with long, full skirts. Called Corolle (petal) in French, the collection was both a reaction to the material deprivations of World War II and an expression of Dior's romantic, yet precise and sophisticated, take on femininity. This nostalgic romanticism was most openly expressed in Dior's cocktail and evening wear, especially in the petal-like skirts of Dior's Junon evening gown.

If Dior's evening wear was extravagant and flowery, his daywear was the opposite. In black, navy or gray, Dior's daytime suits were almost austere in their simplicity. Precisely cut and tailored, they demonstrated Dior's ability to translate menswear into the feminine idiom. In the wool twill suit pictured below, Dior presented a version of the masculine suit softened only by the rounded neckline of the jacket. Dior even went so far as to mimic the look of a neck-tie by tucking and pleating the fabric of the bodice to create a trompe l'oeil knot at the collar. Despite its serious appearance, this suit has a surprisingly lighthearted name: Virevolte. A French verb meaning to dance or twirl around, it suggests that Dior's romanticism was at play in even his most austere designs.

"Virevolte" 3-piece suit
Christian Dior
Fall/Winter 1955
Black and white wool twill
Gift of Mrs. Herbert Lawrence
81.443.1A-C

 

Dressing for a royal wedding

 

If you've been following media reports regarding the wedding of Kate Middleton and Prince William, this advice will sound familiar. For women attending a royal wedding, "hats are required, and there will be lots of big brims and fitted toques...many will wear long gloves with their short sleeves. Men should be in morning coats [or] dress uniforms."¹ This advice is nearly identical to that given on a recent ABC News segment, Royal Wedding Style Guide for Guests. You might be surprised to learn that the advice referenced above actually dates from a previous royal wedding, that of Lady Diana Spencer and Prince Charles in July 1981. Though 30 years apart, the dress code specified on the invitations for both royal weddings is nearly identical.

It's interesting that neither invitation specifies appropriate feminine dress; only male attire is referenced directly. Are women expected to somehow intuit suitable dress for historic and formal weddings? The 1981 article referenced above also noted that women shouldn't wear full-length dresses (too formal) or pants (too casual). Worn by Betsy Bloomingdale to the 1981 wedding of Charles and Diana, this silk day dress fits the bill--neither too long nor too short, it was entirely appropriate for the occasion.

Day Dress
Marc Bohan for Dior
Spring-Summer 1981
Silk crêpe, silk chiffon
Gift of Mrs. Alfred Bloomingdale
2006.116.78BC/C

Newsprint fashion

 

A Paul Poiret c. 1911 tunic and the daily newspaper--what do they have in common? At first, the relationship between a haute couture creation and the local newspaper might seem almost non-existent, however, both are communicative devices that convey information to an observant reader. The text of the newspaper (either online or printed) is read to obtain the latest political news, sports scores, weather and cultural commentary. An outfit, whether haute couture or ready-to-wear, can be read for specific information about the wearer along with more general information regarding the place and time in which it is worn.

Clothing constructed from actual paper, sometimes even newsprint, is most often associated with the late 1960s paper dress trend and late 19th/early 20th century fancy dress costumes. This 1966-69 Wastebasket Boutique paper dress is printed with a collage of advertisements and phone book listings. To learn more about the history and context of late 60s paper dresses, read our Would you believe it's paper? blog post.

Paper dress
Wastebasket Boutique
1966-1969
Gift of Mr. & Mrs. Alfred Himelson
97.350.1

FIDM Museum intern catalogs croquis

As we described in this post a few weeks ago, interns and volunteers are a tremendously important part of the FIDM Museum. We appreciate their varied efforts on behalf of our many objects! Today, recent intern Jasmine Helm describes her work with our collection of croquis.

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As an art history major with a desire to pursue a Masters in costume studies, I needed to gain more experience working with costume objects. Therefore, applying for a summer internship at the FIDM Museum made perfect sense. FIDM Museum staff welcomed me with open arms, and decided they wanted to use my fine art expertise to help catalog their collection of croquis.

In fashion, a croquis is a quick sketch of figure wearing an outfit. Each season designers send croquis to top clients, who use them like a catalog. The FIDM Museum has a collection of about 800 croquis. Many of the croquis are connected to Betsy Bloomingdale's haute couture collection. A large number date from 1976-1992, when the House of Dior was under the direction of Marc Bohan and then Gianfranco Ferre. A small group of 1962 Balmain croquis are in the collection as well. Marc Bohan for Christian Dior
Autumn/ Winter 1982-1983
Ink, gouache, and colored pencil on paper
Gift of Mrs. Alfred Bloomingdale
FIDM Museum Special Collections
SC2006.116.88 (illustration for 2006.116.6AB)

FIDM Museum intern researches image copyright

Interns and volunteers are an integral part of the FIDM Museum. From conducting curatorial research to sewing labels in garments, assisting with organizational projects and helping out during exhibit installation, interns and volunteers offer invaluable support to our many activities. We have been extremely fortunate to work with a number of dedicated volunteers and interns over the years. In this post, intern Daniel Mejia describes some of the contributions he made to the FIDM Museum during his summer 2010 internship.

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I contacted the FIDM Museum hoping they would take a chance on a Slavic Studies major with no real experience in fashion, but a passion for museums. Luckily, the Museum took me on as a summer intern, and I got to work on some really interesting projects. This post will focus on the some of the research that I did.

First off, I researched the copyright status of certain images. This was an amazing opportunity because I will be attending law school in the fall, with the ultimate goal of working as a lawyer for museums. Museums face legal issues all the time, and, of these issues, copyright law is one of the most common and often one of the most difficult to navigate. It can be hard to know whether an illustration found in a magazine or a photograph in a museum’s collection can be freely reproduced. Copyrights are separate from the objects and images to which they apply, so, for example, just because a museum owns an original photograph does not necessarily mean it owns the copyright to the image. Museums must be vigilant about making sure they have the right to reproduce any image that appears in their publications, whether this means acquiring the copyright, requesting permission from the copyright holder, or determining that the copyright has expired. Here are a few examples of copyright situations.

Photograph by Michel Arnaud of Gianfranco Ferre for Dior, Autumn-Winter 1989-90
FIDM Museum Special Collections