Christian Dior Purple Jersey Dress, Size 38FR
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Width: 15.75 in (40 cm)Length: 35.44 in (90 cm)Marked Size: 38 (EU)Waist: 13 in (33 cm)
- Style:Circa 2010 (Of the Period)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Material Notes:Jersey
- Condition:
- Seller Location:SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FR
- Reference Number:
John Galliano for Christian Dior
Known for introducing rich theatricality and memorable fashion spectacles to the runway, John Galliano has enjoyed a singular career. The audacious British designer has garnered universal acclaim for genre-breaking collections not only at his eponymous label but also for Christian Dior.
From his embroidered absinthe-green Oscars gown for actress Nicole Kidman to the iconic sleeveless newspaper-print dress that Sex and the City’s Carrie Bradshaw made famous, Galliano’s intricate and multifaceted work is reliably collectible and newsworthy, drawing on history as often as it embodies a fresh and forward-looking sensibility, and over the years the designer has helped shape an ever-broadening new legion of enthusiasts for Parisian couture.
Born in Gibraltar but raised in South London by strict Roman Catholic working-class parents, Galliano attended the all-boys Church of England grammar school, where his flamboyance and interest in art attracted the attention of bullies. Eventually, Galliano ended up at the prestigious design and art school Central Saint Martins College (then called Saint Martin’s School of Art), where fellow British designers Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen also trained.
Galliano flourished at Central Saint Martins. While a student, he worked in the costume department at the National Theatre in London. His graduate collection in 1984, dubbed “Les Incroyables” and named for post–French Revolution fashion lovers, was modeled by close friends of his and earned a standing ovation. The line ended up in the storefront windows of London luxury boutique Brown’s on South Molton Street, and Galliano’s first official collection — after he graduated — debuted at Paris Fashion Week in 1989.
In the early 1990s, Galliano’s relationship with his financial backer, Plein Sud’s Faycal Amor, ended, and by 1994, he was broke and sleeping on the floor of a friend’s apartment. Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour and then-Vanity Fair editor André Leon Talley stepped in and introduced the budding designer to Portuguese socialite and fashion patron São Schlumberger and others.
At Schlumberger’s Hôtel Particulier, Galliano’s shows became the stuff of fashion legend. His collection, a blend of Japanese modernist style as well as nostalgia for Art Deco and 1940s’ tailoring, earned raves in glossy magazines and garnered the attention of Princess Diana, Madonna and other fashion luminaries.
Once the Galliano name was well known among the world’s most stylish set, the chairperson of LVMH, Bernard Arnault, appointed Galliano head designer of French fashion house Givenchy. One year later, in 1996, LVMH moved him to the design team at Dior. In just eight weeks, Galliano produced 50 looks for Dior Haute Couture’s brilliant Spring/Summer 1997 Maasai collection and would ultimately design a mind-boggling eight collections a year for the storied French fashion house until 2011. Today, Galliano is the creative director of Maison Margiela.
Shop vintage and contemporary John Galliano for Christian Dior evening dresses and gowns, shoes, handbags and other clothing and accessories on 1stDibs.
Christian Dior
When Christian Dior launched his couture house, in 1946, he wanted nothing less than to make “an elegant woman more beautiful and a beautiful woman more elegant.” He succeeded, and in doing so the visionary designer altered the landscape of 20th century fashion. Vintage Dior bags, shoes, evening dresses, shirts and other garments and accessories are known today for their feminine and sophisticated sensibility.
Dior was born in Granville, on the Normandy coast, in 1905. His prosperous haute bourgeois parents wanted him to become a diplomat despite his interest in art and architecture. However, they agreed to bankroll an art gallery, which Dior opened in 1928 in Paris with a friend.
This was the start of Dior’s rise in the city’s creative milieu, where he befriended Pablo Picasso and Jean Cocteau. After seven years as an art dealer, Dior retrained as a fashion illustrator, eventually landing a job as a fashion designer for Robert Piguet, and in 1941, following a year of military service, he joined the house of Lucien Lelong. Just five years later, with the backing of industrialist Marcel Boussac, the ascendant Dior established his own fashion house, at 30 avenue Montaigne in Paris.
Just two years after the end of World War II, the fashion crowd and the moribund haute couture industry were yearning, comme tout Paris, for security and prosperity, desperate to discard the drab, sexless, utilitarian garb imposed by wartime deprivation. They needed to dream anew.
And Dior delivered: He designed a collection for a bright, optimistic future. “It’s quite a revolution, dear Christian!” exclaimed Carmel Snow, the prescient American editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar, famously proclaiming, “Your dresses have such a new look.” The press ran with the description, christening Dior’s debut Spring/Summer haute couture collection the New Look. “God help those who bought before they saw Dior,” said Snow. “This changes everything.”
Dior’s collection definitively declared that opulence, luxury and femininity were in. His skirts could have 40-meter-circumference hems, and outfits could weigh up to 60 pounds. They were cut and shaped like architecture, on strong foundations that molded women and “freed them from nature,” Dior said. Rather than rationing, his ladies wanted reams of fabric and 19-inch waists enforced by wire corsets, and the fashion world concurred. The debut got a standing ovation.
In the subsequent decade, Paris ruled as the undisputed fashion capital of the world, and Christian Dior reigned as its king. With the luxuriously full skirts of his New Look, suits and his drop-dead gorgeous couture dresses and ball gowns worthy of any princess, Dior gave women the gift of glamour they’d lost in the miserable years of war.
On 1stDibs, find an exquisite range of vintage Christian Dior clothing, jewelry, handbags and other items.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, France
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Christian Lacroix Organza Set EnsembleBy Christian LacroixLocated in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FRChristian Lacroix -(Made in France) Organza set consisting of a top, a long skirt and a belt. No size label, it fits a size 42FR. Additional information: Dimensions: Top: Chest: 50...Category
Early 2000s French Evening Dresses
- Valentino Blue Short Dress Embroidered with SequinsBy ValentinoLocated in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FRValentino - Short dress embroidered with sequins. No size or composition label, it fits a 36FR. Fashion show model from the 1990's. Additional information: Dimensions: Chest: 40 cm,...Category
1990s Mini Dress
- Torrente Haute Couture Embroidered Dress, Size 36FRBy TORRENTELocated in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FRTorrente Haute Couture - Dress embroidered with flowers, beads, and sequins. No composition or size tag, it fits a size 36FR. Haute Couture Spring/Summer 1991 Collection Additional ...Category
1990s French Evening Dresses
- Christian Dior Red and Black Silk Satin Long DressBy Christian Dior, Gianfranco Ferré for Christian DiorLocated in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FRDior - (Made in France) Red and black silk satin long dress. No size indicated, it fits a 38FR. Additional information: Condition: Very good conditio...Category
1990s French Cocktail Dresses
- Valentino Skater Dress in Silk Muslin Sewn Haute CoutureBy ValentinoLocated in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FRValentino - Haute Couture skater dress in silk muslin sewn with dark blue sequins. No size nor composition label, it fits a 36FR. Additional information: Condition: Very good condit...Category
1980s Cocktail Dresses
- Chanel Colored Patterned Silk Dress Summer, 2001By ChanelLocated in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FRChanel - (Made in France) Colored patterned silk dress. Indicated size 40FR. Spring-Summer 2001 Collection. Additional information: Condition: Very good c...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Day Dresses
- Roland Klein black strapless dress with black and white striped trainBy Roland KleinLocated in Austin, TX1980s Roland Klein black strapless dress with black and white train. Acetate fabric. 34" bust, 26" waist, 40" hips, 48" front length - 54 1/2" ba...Category
1980s British Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Long asymmetrical evening dress with sequin embroideries and tulle Gai MattioloBy Gai MattioloLocated in Saint-Ouen-Sur-Seine, FRLong asymmetrical evening dress with sequin embroideries and tulle ajouré. NEW with tag. Zip on the left side. Shorter in the front than in the back. Fabric composition: 56% rayon, 4...Category
Early 2000s Italian Evening Dresses
- UNWORN Gucci by Tom Ford FW 2004 Black Silk & Tassle Evening Gown Dress 40By Tom Ford for Gucci, GucciLocated in Switzerland, CHRARE COLLECTOR'S ITEM STUNNING PIECE BY TOM FORD FOR HIS FINAL COLLECTION IN FALL 2004 FOR GUCCI Seen on the runway show, in the AD campaign and in many editorials One of the key...Category
Early 2000s Italian Evening Gowns
- Vintage Tom Ford for Gucci F/W 1996 Black Jersey Dress Gown w Pony Hair Belt 42By Tom Ford for GucciLocated in Montgomery, TXVintage Runway Tom Ford for Gucci Black Jersey Dress Gown F/W 1996 Collection Designer size - 42 Black Jersey, Fully Lined, Slip-on Style. Black Pony Hair Belt...Category
1990s Italian Cocktail Dresses
- 1970s Vintage fluid black dress in sheer jerseyLocated in Milano, ITFluid black dress in sheer jersey with lurex copper profiles and belt. Deep V neckline. Wide shoulder straps. Size IT:40 Size USA: 6 Waist: 66 cm Length: 152 cm Bust: 80 cmCategory
1970s American Evening Dresses
- Iconic Tom Ford for Gucci SS 2003 Japanese Cherry Blossoms Mini Stretch Dress SBy Tom Ford for GucciLocated in Montgomery, TXIconic Tom Ford for Gucci Japanese Cherry Blossoms Mini Stretch Dress S/S 2003 Runway Collection Designer size - S Measurements: Length - 37", Bust - ...Category
Early 2000s Italian Cocktail Dresses
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
How John Galliano Caused Fashion Chaos around the Globe
The visionary designer epitomizes the pleasures and perils of irrepressible creative genius.
Too Soon for the Return of ’90s Fashion? As If
There's a renewed appreciation for the era's aesthetic, perhaps most notably among millennials seeking authentic, easy style.