The V&A is currently showcasing Christian Dior's famous dresses and styles in an exhibition labelled ''Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams''. Amongst those being the iconic ball gown that Princess Margaret wore for her 21st Birthday.
This particular dress embodied the style of the ''New look' a dress released by Dior in 1947. It was as style that was both adored and seen as controversial. Its two main criticisms being that it was seen as overly feminine and too luxurious. In my studies of Dior's New Look I focus on the idea that it was seen as reflecting a more traditional and 'backward' style of dress. The more structured style was associated with a the Victorian fashions and was very different from the freeing styles that had previously been worn, for example Chanel's 'Ford' dress. The flapper fashion of the 1920's seemed to project the idea of an emerging modern women, whereas the New Look was believed to be reminiscent of a 'caged bird attitude'. [1]
The structure of the dress itself, I argue, could be seen as a reflection of society at the time. It presents a more maternal and feminine style of clothing. Highlighting the perceived role women were supposed to have following the war.
‘’Dior’s creation remoulded the female form. Straight lines and angles gave way to softly curved shoulders and hour-glass figures nipped in by corsets, uplifted by pointed bras and padded out by crinolines. The emphasis on breast and hips seemed to accentuate woman’s fertility, suggesting that their social role from now on would be reproductive rather than productive.’’[2]
Elizabeth Ewing’s book Fashion in Underwear looks at the ‘waspie’ and how it was worn under the New Look in order to create the hour-glass figure that the New Look required. They were used to make the waist narrower and accentuate the wearers hips. Creating the perfect womanly silhouette.[3]
However it could be argued that the New Look was worn by individuals who were independent and didn’t resemble a ‘cage bird attitude’. [4] The lavish style enabled women to act confidently, Jess Berry argues that the abundance of photographs of women dressed in Dior’s collection, in magazines and advertisements, links women to the narrative of their presence being affirmed outside of the domestic sphere. Therefore, suggesting that the New Look went beyond the 19th century ideals it was associated with. [5]
The New Look was released at a time when both Britain and France were undergoing a period of austerity due to the impact of the war, and the New look which required metres of extravagant material, was seen to 'kick austerity in the teeth'. [6] However, despite its over expensive style and against the wishes of politicians, who wished to keep to more regulatory fashions, like the Berketex range created by Norman Hartnell for the Utility campaign, the Royal Family were captivated by the opulence and femininity of Dior's dresses.
In Autumn of 1947 Dior showed his collection in London, where the clothes were secretly shown to the Royal Family. Princess Margaret in particular was captivated by the romantic style of Dior's dresses and it sparked a love affair that 'elevated the New Look to the status of 'by the appointment to the Queen.' [7] Their relationship continued so far so that Dior designed Princess Margaret’s show stopping dress; an off the shoulder white organza dress, decorated with mother of pearls.
Dior has gone on to influence many other leading women in their fashion, including more 21st century figures such as Megan Markell, whilst the simple black dress is no comparison to Princess Margarets 21st gown, it shows how diverse and revolutionary Dior's as a fashion house can be.
I have not yet been to see the exhibition featuring the beautiful designs including Princess Margarets ball gown. But the pictures all over instagram have me green with envy and I would suggest that anyone who has an interest in fashion and Dior get themselves to London before it ends!
For other interesting articles on Dior and other designers, Suzy Menkes has created some amazing posts for Vogue.
[2]Pam Cook. Fashioning the nation: costume and identity in British cinema (British Film institute, 1996),p.53.
[3] Elizabeth Ewing, Fashion in Underwear: From Babylon to Bikini Briefs (Courier Corporation, 2010), p. 115.
[4] Pearson Phillips, ‘’The New Look’, in Sissons, Michael and French, Phillip (eds.), Age of Austerity:1945-1951 (Oxford University Press, 1963), p.131.
[5] Jess Berry, The ‘New Look’ Woman in the City and on the Street as Represented in Fashion Photography, The Journal of Fashion, Beauty and style, Vol 4, no.1, pp.1-18 (2015),p, 3.
[6] Elizabeth Wilson and Lou Taylor, Through the Looking Glass: A History of Dress from 1860 to the present day,(BBC Books, 1989), p.148.
[7] Marie France Pochna, Christian Dior, The Man Who Made the World Look New,(Arcade
Publishing, 1996). p 195.
