Christian Dior’s “New Look,” Harper’s Bazaar, 1947The collection was la

Christian Dior’s “New Look,” Harper’s Bazaar, 1947The collection was launched in 1947 and was actually Dior’s first.  He had been invited by a friend, Marcel Boussac, to breathe new life into his struggling clothing company.  Boussac also had investments in textile mills so Dior’s vision of billowing skirts and excess use of fabric appealed to him.  Boussac invested an unprecedented 60million Francs in launching Dior’s couture house which went on to be one of, if not the, biggest influence on post-war fashion.This 1947 spring/summer collection was originally made up of two lines, ‘Corolle’ and ‘Huit’ however the term ‘New Look’ is said to have came about after Harper’s Bazaar’s editor-in-chief, Carmel Snow, exclaimed “It’s such a new look!”.  The signature style was made up of certain key elements; full-skirts, waspy waists and soft shoulders.  After wartime rationing the yards and yards of fabric used in the designs was a refreshing change.  As we all know, after the war women were encouraged to become homemakers once again, moving out of the workplace, and therefore the feminine, flowery and certainly impractical nature of this fashion was positively encouraged in Western countries.This Bar Suit is one of the iconic images from the collection as it encompasses the central themes of the style.  The suit delicately displays the feminine body however the tailored jacket adds just the perfect touch of structure to the overall look.  During this period, there was still a slightly sombre tone as the Western world tried to re-build itself economically and the New Look accounts for this as it has a mature feel, attempting to avoid frivolity and girlishness which may have been criticised as poor taste. For example King George V, of British royalty, forbade his daughters from wearing the look as rationing was still prominent in some areas. -- source link

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