Christian Dior Haute Couture Cockerel Feathers Velvet Dress
View Similar Items
Christian Dior Haute Couture Cockerel Feathers Velvet Dress
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: AU131201449227
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.
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 evening 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.
- Viktor & Rolf Big Puff Sleeve DressBy Viktor & RolfLocated in New York, NYViktor & Rolf dress.New with tags. Made In Italy. Size 44 IT. Sleeves are very puffy made of kind of hard silk mesh fabric that does not loose ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Rare Comme Des Garcons Runway 2019 Dress X Heavy Chains Artwork By baanai NEW SBy Comme des GarçonsLocated in New York, NYComme Des Garcons Runway 2018 Dress with chain Artwork By baanai Size S Dress and chain comes separate.Please see image on how to display chain ,it goes...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Vintage Dolce & Gabbana 1998 Silk Hand Painted Dress Flowers & BirdsBy Dolce & GabbanaLocated in New York, NYDolce Gabbana Yellow Gold silk dress 1998 Hand-painted with flowers and birds and flowers on the side. Condition is very good Pictured on mannequin s...Category
21st Century and Contemporary European Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Rare Issey Miyake Dress Photography By Irving PenBy Issey MiyakeLocated in New York, NYIssey Miyake dress from 1990's Same dress in off white version was photographed by Irving Pen Excellent condition. Made in Japan.FINAL SALECategory
1990s Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Michaele Vollbracht Feathers And Sequins Dress, 1980sBy Michaele VollbrachtLocated in New York, NYMichaele Vollbracht very rare dress from 1980's. Beyond gorgeous dress with unusual design and look from Michaele Vollbracht. So many high quality feathers covering the bottom of thi...Category
Late 20th Century Evening Dresses and Gowns
- John Galliano Black Double Breasted Diva Pin Up Dress Coat Runway 1995By John GallianoLocated in New York, NYJohn Galliano Black Moiré Showpiece Double Breasted Dress Coat SS 1995 Galliano's inspiration for this collection included the Paris socialite, hostess and close friend of Coco Chan...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Jean Muir Emerald Green Viscose Jersey Cocktail DressBy Jean MuirLocated in New York, NYJean Muir emerald green jersey cocktail dress with long wrap sash. Sash may also be worn as long scarf around neck, and tied at lower back. Front of dress has asymmetrical pleating. ...Category
Late 20th Century British Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Badgley Mischka Beaded Black Silk Lace Evening Gown Size US 10By Badgley MischkaLocated in New York, NYBadgley Mischka glamorous black silk lace evening gown, size US 10. Gown features hand beaded and embroidered lace with glass jet beading, and neckline with glass jet beads along cu...Category
Late 20th Century American Evening Gowns
- Giambattista Valli Ivory Crepe Sleeveless Wedding Gown Dress EU 40By Giambattista ValliLocated in New York, NYElegant Giambattista Valli ivory crepe sleeveless wedding gown has a delicate fitted bust, darts to accentuate the length of waist, which is finished with a stitched ribbon at the wa...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
$2,000 Sale Price20% Off - WILLIAM PEARSON Designer Vintage Floral Green Dress Ribbon Ruffle Off Shoulder 8Located in Asheville, NCWilliam Pearson, Floral Pattern, Double Layered Lining, Could be off Shoulder or on Shoulder, Satin Ribbon Tie in Back, Satin Ribbon Along Bottom, Full Skirt, Ribbed Top Material, Zi...Category
1980s Evening Dresses and Gowns
$360 Sale Price20% Off - Rare LARRY ALDRICH COUTURE 1950s Silk Taffeta Bow & Button Cocktail DressLocated in Asheville, NCLarry Aldrich, 1950's Era Vintage Couture, Silk Taffeta, V Neck Front Wrap Style with Bow, Two Front Pockets, Nine Fabric Back Buttons, Built-in Moderate Crinoline with Hook and Eye ...Category
1950s Cocktail Dresses
$909 Sale Price30% Off - Rare CEIL CHAPMAN 1950s Vintage Black Satin COUTURE Cocktail Dress XS/SBy Ceil ChapmanLocated in Asheville, NCCeil Chapman, 1950's Era, Pleated Front and Back Panels, Front Bow, Open Top Puff Sleeves with Bows on Ends, Round Neck, Bone In Front and Sides, Back Zipper, Hook and Eye Black Clos...Category
1950s Cocktail Dresses
$1,750 Sale Price30% Off
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
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.
14 Iconic Luxury Handbags and the Stories behind Them
When the name of a bag is as well-known as its brand, you know it's a classic.