Christian Dior's New Look: A Historical Perspetive and His Influence
- Isabela Leroux
- Nov 8, 2024
- 13 min read
Christian Dior, recognized as one of those rare designers who changed the course of fashion with a single collection and dominated for a decade, was a revolutionary French fashion designer who is best known for his eponymous fashion house and was looked up to for his revival of the couture after the German occupation of Paris at the time. Dior’s designs represented a radical departure from the restrictive styles of wartime fashion, and his innovative silhouettes and luxurious fabrics soon earned him worldwide recognition. His iconic New Look debuted in 1947, marking a turning point in women’s fashion, emphasizing a cinched waist, full skirt, and accentuated bust. Dior being a fashion genius transformed the fashion landscape of the post-war era, and his influence continues to shape the industry today. Despite his untimely death in 1957 at the age of fifty-two, his fashion house remains at the forefront of the fashion industry, maintaining the extravagant and pioneering spirit that Dior himself embodied.
To further contextualize Christian Dior's life, he was born in Granville, Normandy, in 1905. From a young age, he had an interest in art and was supported by his parents to pursue his passion.After moving to Paris, he opened an art gallery at 34, rue de la Boétie, where the work of contemporary artists like Giorgio de Chirico, Maurice Utrillo, Salvador Dali, Raoul Dufy, and many other artists. However, after the Great Depression hit, the gallery was closed and began to sell fashion sketches instead to make ends meet. His work marked his entry into the world of fashion for Robert Piguet, where he honed his skills as a designer. During World War Two, he served in the French army and later joined the fashion house of Lucien Lelong. His designs during this time were noted for their elegance and style, which caught the attention of textile manufacturer Marcel Boussac, who later in 1946 offered Dior the opportunity to start his own fashion house in a Maison on Avenue Montaigne in Paris. This is when the birth of the House of Dior takes place. His first collection was presented in 1947, which was dubbed the New Look by the press, which revolutionized women’s fashion, and catapulted Dior to international fame. However, just a decade later, Christian Dior’s life was cut short by a heart attack in 1957.
During the German occupation of Paris in World War Two, fashion was greatly constrained. A combination of fabric rationing, economic hardship, and the austere mood of the time led to a significant simplification of style. Many European designers flew to the United States or moved to other countries to not get caught in danger during this time, and American designers started to emerge as Parisian couturiers had their hands tied. Women’s clothing became more practical and less decorative, with a focus on functionality over aesthetics and beauty. Skirts were shorter andstraighter, and the stage for the radical changes that Christian Dior would introduce with his revolutionary New Look.
Post-World War Two fashion was marked by a significant shift from the practical, austere styles dictated by wartime rationing to a renewed emphasis on luxury, femininity, and extravagance. With the end of the war, fabric restrictions were lifted, allowing designers to explore new silhouettes and use more material. The fashion industry, which had been restrained by the demands of the war effort, was eager to break free from these limitations and embrace a new era of abundance and creativity. This period saw the emergence of a more glamorous, opulent style that celebrated the end of hardship and the return to prosperity.
In this post-war era, Christian Dior, financed by the textile manufacturer Marcel Boussac,7 debuted with his collection known as the Corolle line, which was unveiled in 1947 and quickly named The New Look by Carmel Snow, the then editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar Magazine. The New Look was a bold departure from the practicality and austerity of wartime fashion, reflecting a longing for glamor, femininity, and luxury that had been suppressed during the years of war and the German occupation of Paris. The collection was characterized by voluminous skirts, cinched waists, exaggerated busts, and soft shoulders; a silhouette that was in stark contrast to the restrained and utilitarian styles prevalent during World War Two. The New Look was seen as a celebration of the end of the war and a return to a more prosperous and optimistic time. It was a fashion revolution that would define the era and cement Dior’s place in fashion history.
“The New Look was only a success because it moved in the same direction as the times: an era that was trying to get away from the mechanical and the inhuman, to rediscover tradition and its constants.” (Dior, 1947).
The inspiration for Christian Dior’s debut collection, Corolle, was mainly flowers and the idea of making women feel beautiful. As flowers are one of the, if not the most, romantic symbols in nature, Dior wanted women to look as beautiful and as soft as a flower, therefore creating the Flower-woman silhouette. 10 This also aligns with femininity, connecting women with nature and evoking a sense of freshness, and a notion of rebirth after the tough and devastating destruction World War Two left behind.11 Christian Dior gave women a sort of ethereal appearance with elaborate workmanship and put in use an architectural approach. As couture demands as much accuracy as architecture does, a collection cannot exactly succeed if the pieces are not well cut and well sewn in. Dior also based his designs on the reinterpretation of eighteenth-century styles, especially of the Crinoline and the Bustle volumes, which were the subject of inspiration for the Corolle silhouette. Dior also explored the magnificent forms of the past that continued to thrive in the luxury industries, rekindled the admiration for sumptuous and luxurious fabrics and ornamental techniques, and overcame the memories of the war restrictions, the extravagant use of these gorgeous fabrics was something Dior was eager to use, creating monumental sculptures and architectural works of textiles to create such designs.
Within the Corolle line from 1947, Dior included various impactful designs throughout this first year. The Chérie dinner dress (see Figure 1), is made of a gorgeous sapphire-blue silk taffeta, to create its voluminous, pleated skirt, it needed up to twenty-five yards of fabric, which made it look like a blooming flower and is also considered a declaration of tenderness. The Aladin dinner dress, in a sumptuous champagne silk satin fabric, is styled with a belt to cinch in the waist to create that hourglass silhouette (see Figure 2). The Mystère day coat, rafted with luxurious black wool with an elegant moss-green silk taffeta trim, features a distinguished collar and a row of delicate buttons (see Figure 3). The Eugénie ball gown, crafted with luxurious and detailed pink nylon lace, was named after the Empress Eugénie of France, who was known for her extravagant and opulent style. The signature piece, the Bar suit jacket, made of beige silk shantung, and the Day skirt, crafted out of black wool, was the design that created the mold of what is today known as the New Look (see Figure 8) The Corolle dress, in black wool with an extravagant pleated skirt, took up to 15 yards of fabric (see Figure 5). The Doris Fitted coat, made of gorgeous and elegant navy-blue wool, is a double-breasted coat that goes unadorned, with the exception of the tailored collar and large patch pockets on the hips (see Figure 6). The Soirée long evening dress, in a luxurious navy-blue silk taffeta and black point d’esprit tulle lace, had elegant ribbon straps tied with bows and a low-cut bodice coming along into a tires skirt that suggests the petals of an inverted flower (see Figure 7). The designs from the Corolle line allowed Christian Dior to create more revolutionary, impactful, and gorgeous designs throughout the years. Even after Christian Dior died in 1957, after only a decade of creating and designing within his own fashion house, the House of Dior kept his legacy alive by creating designs that make women feel and look beautiful.
“We were coming out of a time of war, of uniforms, of soldier-women built like boxers. I drew flower women with soft shoulders, generous busts, waists as slim as vines, and skirts as wide as petals.” (Dior, 1947)
During the emergence of the New Look and post-World War Two, fashion was marked by a significant shift in societal attitudes and values. The end of the war signaled a return to prosperity and optimism, and people were eager to move away from the austerity and hardships of the war years. There was a renewed emphasis on luxury and extravagance, and fashion became a way for people to express their newfound optimism and prosperity. Women were ready to embrace more feminine and glamorous styles after years of practical and utilitarian clothing, mainly to strip away from the memories of a somber time. Christian Dior’s New Look perfectly captured the mood of the time, and the release of the Corolle collection was seen as a celebration of the end of wartime and the return to peacetime economies and played a significant role in shaping fashion trends throughout time.
The New Look was characterized by several specific design elements that represented a radical departure from the wartime fashion of the period. The silhouette of the New Look was distinctively feminine. Marked by a cinched waist, a full, voluminous skirt, an accentuated bust, and soft rounded shoulders. These elements combined to create an hourglass figure that emphasized the curves that were hidden during the war years with a boxy and utilitarian silhouette. The key element of the New Look was the extensive use of fabric. The end of wartime rationing allowed Dior to design skirts that were voluminous and full, using as many yards of fabrics as needed to create the volume on the skirt since the fabric restrictions were lifted. These skirts were often paired with fitted jackets that further emphasized the gathered waist, creating a silhouette that was both elegant and opulent. The accentuated bust was another key element of the New Look. Dior’s design often featured fitted bodices that highlighted the bust, further contributing to the feminine silhouette that was the hallmark of the New Look.
The most iconic piece that encapsulated the New Look is the Bar suit jacket (see Figure 8), which was previously mentioned. Consisting of a tailored jacket with a nipped-in waist and a full, pleated skirt. The jacket’s cutting-edge tailoring, with its shapely silhouette and exaggerated hip line, was a dramatic departure from the styles of wartime. The full skirt of the suit, made possible by the end of fabric restrictions, celebrated the return to opulence and luxury after the austere war years. The Bar suit became a symbol of the New Look, and its influence was profound and lasting, shaping the course of fashion history and becoming an iconic representation of the mid-20th-century style.
The New Look deviated from the fashion trends of the time in several significant ways, primarily in its extravagant use of fabric and its emphasis on a feminine almost flower-like silhouette. Post-World War Two fashion was dominated by utilitarian and austere styles, largely due to fabric rationing during the war. However, with the end of the war and the lifting of these restrictions, the New Look capitalized on the available abundance of fabric, creating full, voluminous clothes – a contrast to the straight, narrow skirts of the wartime years.
When it comes to the public reception, the collection was positively received, but not without controversy. Some responded negatively, mainly from places where rationing was still in place, because of the extensive, extravagant use of fabric to create the signature voluminous skirts, as the creation of these skirts would use up to twenty-five yards of fabric to achieve that voluminous look. Christian Dior’s use of fabric was seen as “wasteful” and even impractical as many got used to and accustomed to the utilitarian and practical clothing. Yet, despite the controversy surrounding the New Look, many young women who loved fashion grew enthusiastic and embraced Dior’s Corolle silhouette, which caused its popularity to increase.26 The New Look’s popularity brought Christian Dior’s name to light and was acknowledged as a leading fashion designer at the time.
The factors of the post-war era played a massively significant role in the adoption and popularity of the New Look. As the end of the war marked a shift in societal attitudes and values, the return of prosperity and optimism came and there was a desire to leave behind the dark times of the war and the horrid, somber times it brought. The New Look was the representation of this, of bringing back optimism, beauty, and luxury after an austere time.
In many ways, the New Look was more than just a mere fashion trend – it was more of a movement that challenged the status quo and transformed the way women dressed. Dior’s influence with this new and elegant hourglass silhouette was extended beyond the fashion industry, shaping societal norms and attitudes towards femininity and elegance. Today, the New Look continues to be celebrated for its revolutionary design and enduring influence on fashion, as well as its being referenced within the industry.
Christian Dior’s lasting impact on the fashion industry is immeasurable. His innovative designs and the introduction of the New Look transformed fashion in the mid-20th century and continue to influence the world in modern fashion trends. The House of Dior remained a global leader in the fashion industry, maintaining Christian Dior’s commitment to quality and beauty. His legacy of making women beautiful and dressing them as the most beautiful flowers is still intact and living within that fashion house is a main drive to the current flower-like designs. Christian Dior’s designs are continually referenced, reimagined, and celebrated by contemporary designers, demonstrating the enduring influence of his visionary talent and creativity.
Dior’s impact is not limited to the realm of fashion and apparel. It also expanded to other areas such as fragrance and accessories. A standout would be the perfume Miss Dior, which was launched in 1947 alongside his debut fashion collection. The fragrance was made to honor Christian Dior’s sister, Catherine Dior, who had served in the French Resistance, was captured, sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp, and survived the atrocities of the war. The Miss Dior perfume is a landmark in the fragrance industry and is still popular in the present. In accessories, Dior expanded the definition of luxury, introducing costume jewelry, handbags, and footwear that complemented his fashion collections. These ventures diversified the brand and solidified its standing as a comprehensive lifestyle label, influencing aesthetics in various areas.
Christian Dior’s New Look not only revolutionized women’s fashion, but it also left an indelible mark on the Dior fashion house that still runs and continues to influence its designs in the present. After Christian Dior’s death, his successors at the helm of the fashion house have each interpreted the New Look in their own unique ways while maintaining Dior’s original vision to make women look like gorgeous flowers, and his vision of luxury, femininity, and beauty.
The New Look continues to have a profound impact on people’s styles in the present as well. The silhouette became a timeless classic that is often revisited in modern fashion. Many contemporary designers have incorporated elements of the New Look into their collections, being proof of Dior’s enduring influence. Furthermore, the focus on femininity and luxury that Dior championed has become a staple in the fashion industry, influencing the way people dress and perceive style. Even everyday fashion incorporates such aspects, from the tailored waistlines to the emphasis on expressive, voluminous apparel. Dior’s influence extends beyond the runway, inspiring fashion enthusiasts to embrace bold, luxurious, and feminine styles in their daily outfits.
Yves Saint Laurent, Dior’s immediate successor who ran the house from 1957 to 1960, introduced a softer version of the New Look, which maintained the signature silhouette but added a youthful, bohemian touch.29 Marc Bohan, who served as creative director of Dior for almost 30 years (from 1960 to 1989), continued to develop Dior’s aesthetic, introducing a more streamlined silhouette while maintaining the focus on luxurious materials and high-quality craftsmanship.
In recent years, designers such as Gianfranco Ferré (active from 1989-1996), John Galliano (active from 1996-2011), Raf Simons (active from 2012-2015), and Maria Grazia Chiuri (active from 2016-present day) have each brought their unique perspective to Dior while respecting and referencing the New Look. Ferré’s designs were often architectural with simple cuts, but also infused with their ideal of explicit femininity that veered towards the grand, opulent, overly romantic, and theatrical styles. Galliano’s designs were often extravagant and theatrical, yet they also reference Dior’s iconic silhouette. Simons, on the other hand, focused on modernity and minimalism, but his designs often featured the signature cinched waist and full skirt.33 Chiuri, the first woman to lead Dior’s creative team, has incorporated feminist messages into her collections, while also celebrating and respecting Dior’s history and vision.
In the world of haute couture, Dior’s influence is evident in the work of designers such as Giorgio Armani, Alexander McQueen, Givenchy, and Valentino Garavani, who have all incorporated elements of Dior’s iconic silhouette and commitment to luxury in their collections.Dior’s influence is not limited to high fashion as many ready-to-wear brands also draw upon his vision. Brands like Oscar de la Renta and Carolina Herrera, known for their elegant and feminine styles, reflect Dior’s influence in their emphasis on a tailored waistline and voluminous skirts. Moreover, Dior’s pioneering spirit continues to inspire designers to challenge convention and redefine fashion. His audacious debut of the New Look, which radically deviated from the austere styles of the war years, serves as a reminder of the transformative power of fashion. Thus, Christian Dior’s impact on the fashion industry remains profound. His visionary designs continue to inspire contemporary designers, shape fashion trends, and redefine our understanding of elegance and femininity.
Christian Dior’s New Look revolutionized women’s fashion in the mid-20th century. Born in the austerity of World War Two, it symbolized a return to prosperity and optimism. Despite the initial controversy at the reception of the New Look, it became an iconic representation of the mid-20th century style, influencing fashion trends and shaping societal attitudes towards femininity and elegance. The influence extends beyond the realm of fashion and clothing, shaping societal norms and perceptions in the post-war era. His legacy still endures in his fashion house, which continues to integrate Dior’s principles in its designs. The influence of the New Look on contemporary fashion and style remains significant, demonstrating the enduring impact of Dior’s talent during the decade he ran his fashion house.
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Image sources
Dior Héritage Collection. Corolle Afternoon Dress. 1947. Book Image. Dior by Christian Dior.
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. Doris Fitted Coat. 1947. Book Image. Dior by Christian Dior.
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. Soirée Long Evening Dress. 1947. Book Image. Dior by Christian Dior.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Aladin Dinner Dress. 1958. Book Image. Christian Dior.
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. Bar Suit Jacket and Day Skirt. 1947. Online Image. JSTOR.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/community.15999832.
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. Chérie. 1947. Online Image. JSTOR.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/community.16005590.
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. Eugénie Ball Gown. 1953. Book Image. Christian Dior.
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. Mystère Day Coat. 1959. Book Image. Christian Dior.
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