Tracing Christian Dior’s Evolution, From the Postwar ‘New Look’ to Contemporary Feminism

Tracing Christian Dior’s Evolution, From the Postwar ‘New Look’ to Contemporary Feminism

In the aftermath of World War II, French fashion designer Christian Dior spearheaded a new era of style with his extravagant, ultrafeminine creations. Now, writes Miles Pope for Vanity Fair, a new exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum in New York is chronicling the House of Dior’s 75-year history, “masterfully blend[ing its founder’s] artistry and legacy.”

Titled “Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams,” the 22,000-square-foot show features more than 200 haute couture garments, photographs, videos, sketches, accessories and other items, some of which are on public display for the first time. As Hamish Bowles reports for Vogue, “Designer of Dreams” features garments by both Dior and his successors at the fashion house, including Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Bohan, Gianfranco Ferré, John Galliano, Raf Simons and current artistic director Maria Grazia Chiuri.

For the new exhibition, curators converted the museum’s Beaux-Arts Court into something straight out of the pages of Vogue. Designs on view “exemplify … the French couturier’s fabled silhouettes, including his groundbreaking ‘New Look,’ which debuted in 1947,” according to a statement. “… The exhibition also brings to life Dior’s many sources of inspiration—from the splendor of flowers and other natural forms to classical and contemporary art.”

In addition to tracing the brand’s evolution, “Designer of Dreams” includes dresses inspired by 18th-century fashions, a “colorama” display of Dior accessories and a gallery outlining Dior’s dressmaking process. Compared with the original version of the show, which debuted at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris in 2017, the New York iteration is more focused on the present, dedicating a significant amount of space to Chiuri’s creations.

“Chiuri is, of course, the first woman to helm Dior, which is a big deal, but the exhibit doesn’t really explore what that means beyond … catchphrases” like “We Should All Be Feminists and “Would God Be Female,” writes fashion critic Vanessa Friedman for the New York Times.

In Paris, Friedman adds, “I actually learned something about Dior the man, who started his career as a gallerist. And it was convincing in presenting the way he established the vocabulary of the house: the extravagant yet trim femininity of the ‘New Look’; his lush color palette; his fascination with flowers, filigree and tarot.”

Born into an affluent family in Granville, France, in 1905, Dior was one of the leading designers of the 20th century. He trained under couturiers Robert Piguet and Lucien Lelong before establishing his own fashion house in 1946. Over the next several years, Dior developed his trademark “New Look,” which featured lower waistlines, smaller shoulders, defined waists and voluminous skirts—a marked departure from wartime padded shoulders and short skirts.

“What was heralded as a new style was merely the genuine, natural expression of the kind of fashion I wanted to see,” the designer once said. “It just so happened that my personal inclinations coincided with the general mood for the times and thus became the fashion watchword. It was as if Europe had tired of dropping bombs and now wanted to let off a few fireworks.”

Writing for Deutsche Welle in 2017, Jan Tomes argued that Dior’s vision of “radical femininity” appealed to the postwar public’s sense of nostalgia. He “didn’t want to create everyday clothes for the pragmatic woman of the fast-moving century but rather sell a dream of the good old days, when women could afford to be extravagant and deliberately glamorous.”

Dior’s relatively conservative designs attracted criticism from those who accused him of “taking away women’s newly attained independence by lacing them up in corsets and making them wear long skirts again,” per Deutsche Welle. As fashion designer Coco Chanel commented, “Dior doesn’t dress women. He upholsters them!”

Despite these critiques, Dior’s designs remained immensely popular both during his lifetime (he died of a heart attack in 1957) and in the decades after. But the fashion house’s legacy isn’t limited to its founder, Chiuri tells Booth Moore of Women’s Wear Daily.

She adds, “I hope people see how the history of the brand was shaped by so many, because sometimes when we speak about Dior, we don’t realize how many designers worked at this brand, and it’s very important because it’s not only the history of Mr. Dior, but also Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Bohan and John Galliano.”

“Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams” is on view at the Brooklyn Museum in New York through February 20, 2022.

Meghan Markle’s Dior Purse Had Two Hidden Messages

The royals often use their sartorial choices to send a message, and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, is no exception. On Saturday, Meghan and Prince Harry spoke at the Global Citizen concert in New York City, promoting Covid vaccine equity. When the Duke and Duchess left the event, Meghan put a black coat on top of her white Valentino shift dress, and picked up her black Dior purse. The bag, however, is anything but ordinary, and has a few special touches.

First, looking more closely at the Dior purse, there is a monogram on the center of the bag. One eagle-eyed Twitter user spotted the letters, reading, “DSSOS”—an abbreviation of “Duchess of Sussex.” DSS stands for “duchess,” O for “of,” and S for “Sussex.”

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex leaving the Global Citizen concert. Gotham Meghan’s purse, reading “DSSOS.” Getty Images

In addition to the message on the purse, the bag itself holds its own particular meaning. The purse is , an iteration of the brand’s Lady Dior bag. The style was named after Meghan’s late mother-in-law, Princess Diana. According to FT, the then-unnamed purse was gifted to Princess Diana in 1995 by the French first lady. Diana took a liking to the bag, which she received in black leather, and began wearing it often. Dior officially named the bag after Diana in 1996, and reportedly sold 200,000 in its first two years of production.

Princess Diana in Buenos Aires in 1995, carrying the then-unnamed Lady Dior bag. Tim Graham Getty Images

Meghan made the purse her own with the DSSOS, as the Duchess often enjoys added monogrammed touches to her outfits. This is not the first time she’s sported a monogrammed accessory; in fact, she and the Duchess of Cambridge both often wear monogrammed necklaces, featuring their children’s initials on them. The tradition extends even prior to Archie and Lili’s births. When she and Prince Harry began dating, Meghan hinted to their relationship with a piece from brand Maya Brenner, featuring the letters “M” and “H.”

Annie Goldsmith News Writer Annie Goldsmith is the news writer for Town & Country, where she covers culture, politics, style, and the British royal family.

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Meghan Markle’s Dior handbag had a surprising hidden detail

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On Saturday evening, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended the Global Citizen Live event in New York City. We were so excited to see the royal couple, and Meghan’s outfit was top class as always.

READ: Princess Diana’s iconic Gucci bag is back and it’s had a pretty epic makeover

The former Suits star decided to opt for a beautiful white mini dress from Valentino. The shift-style frock was emblazoned with intricate floral embellishments, and the mother-of-two accessorised with a black face mask and matching coat - carrying a beautiful bag by Christian Dior.

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In fact, the ‘it’ bag bore special significance as it was the ‘Lady D-Lite’ bag - named after Princess Diana, Meghan’s late mother-in-law.

READ: Princess Diana’s designer handbag collection will seriously make you swoon

It’s safe to say that Diana inspired Christian Dior. The Lady Dior bag was originally known as the Chouchou. In 1996 however, Diana carried it and the rest is history.

Meghan carrying her Lady D-Lite bag in New York

She was rarely seen without the statement bag and it became synonymous with the royal - so much so that the fashion house gave it a revamp and named it after her. It’s still one of the brand’s most instantly recognisable and popular pieces, so we can totally see why Meghan chose it.

Princess Diana often carried her Dior bag

From close-up photos however, royal fans have spotted that she had actually had the arm candy personalised! As you can see from our zoomed-in snap, it bears the abbreviation ‘DSSOS’ - which we take to be ‘DSS’, an abbreviation for ‘Duchess’, and ‘OS’, Of Sussex. Cute!

The bag was personalised bearing the letters: ‘DSSOS’

READ: Meghan Markle’s first famous royal handbag is finally available to buy

Meghan’s is the latest and most modern version of the Lady D-Lite bag. It’s fully embroidered with a black Cannage motif and the front features a signature Christian Dior print.

Lady D-Lite Bag, £3,450 / $4,800, Dior

Equipped with a wide, reversible and removable embroidered shoulder strap, the medium Lady D-Lite bag can be carried by hand, worn over the shoulder or cross-body and it will cost you just over £3,000. Wow!

Get the Dior look

Isabella Bag in Houndstooth Black, £120, Lily and Bean

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