2007 Christian Dior Grey Tweed Dress
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Length: 39 in (99.06 cm)Marked Size: 8,10 (US)Bust: 36 in (91.44 cm)Waist: 32 in (81.28 cm)Hip: 38 in (96.52 cm)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU55016987662
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: London, United Kingdom
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 7 days of delivery.
- 1950s Du-Rite Floral Cotton Dress With Dropped WaistLocated in London, GBThis charming 1950s cotton sun dress with a softly abstracted floral print in soft pastel shades in pink, blue, green and grey is a lovely piece for summer. It features a dropped wai...Category
1950s Canadian Day Dresses
- 1970s Janice Wainwright Grey and Gold Flapper Style DressBy Janice WainwrightLocated in London, GB1970s Janice Wainwright 1920s style flapper dress. This is a wonderful example of Janice Wainwright's early work which is highly sort after by collectors and museums alike. She founded her own company in 1970 after working for Simon Massey...Category
1970s British Evening Dresses
- 1960s Pastel Floral Lame A-Line Dress with Matching HeadbandLocated in London, GBThis French couture 1960s A-line mini dress has a wonderful luminosity to it thanks to its floral lame fabric. The neckline is high and softly rounded, and the interior is lined with...Category
1960s French Mini Dresses
- 1970s Yuki Couture Cream Silk Jersey DressBy YukiLocated in London, GB1970s Yuki couture asymmetrical dress in cream silk/jersey. Draped in a Grecian style, this dress is really special and would be perfect for any occasion. This is a piece from his ma...Category
1970s British Greek Style Dresses
- 1970s Lee Jordan Multi-Coloured Sequin Maxi DressLocated in London, GBSuperb quality Lee Jordan of New York all over floral sequinned three quarter length column dress. Lee Jordan made very high end department store occasion wear for the affluent American market from the 1960s through to the 1980s. This dress is most likely from the late 1960s to early 1970s. Rows of wavy iridescent sequins overlay an abstract design in georgette fabric in a striking neon rainbow...Category
1970s American Aesthetic Day Dresses
- 1950s Lace Wedding DressLocated in London, GBOriginal 1950s lace wedding dress, very much in the sweeping style of Grace Kelly's when she married Prince Rainier of Monaco in 1956. This look is...Category
British Wedding Dresses
- Issey Miyake Sculptural Pleats Please Vintage Pleated Avant Garde Midi DressBy Issey MiyakeLocated in Sparks, NVStunning vintage Issey Miyake Pleats Please dress. Unlined with no closure (pulls on over the head). The bust measures 29-42" (un...Category
1990s Japanese Day Dresses
- Versace Collection green dressBy Gianni VersaceLocated in Capri, ITVersace Collection green dress totally made in italy in size s total lenght 70 cmCategory
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Day Dresses
- Vintage Casalino Necklace Print Silk 1970s Boho 70s Dress Tunic Made In ItalyLocated in San Diego, CAAmazing vintage 1970s Casalino silk dress, or tunic! Ruffle detail at shoulders, with an elastic waist. Colorful pearl necklace print throughout. Peasa...Category
1970s Italian Casual Dresses
- Vintage 1950's Evelyn Brown Couture Sage Green Silk-Satin Ruched Cocktail DressLocated in Beverly Hills, CASuch an elegant and timeless 1950's cocktail dress from the Evelyn Brown Washington D.C designer label. Perfect for any upcoming party; you can't help but feel feminine in this beaut...Category
1950s American Aesthetic Evening Dresses
- Halston silk charmeuse strapless gownBy HalstonLocated in Beverly Hills, CAHalston gown in silk charmeuse. A very architectural look, the bodice wraps around the body ending in the bias cut skirt with high front slit. Interi...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Cocktail Dresses
- Vintage Missoni Psychedelic Silk Chiffon Beaded Cut Out Mini Dress w/ TagsBy MissoniLocated in Beverly Hills, CABeautiful 2009 Missoni designer runway dress with tags that retailed for over $3,000 when new. Redefining an entire genre of fashion, Missoni launched to fame as the boho chic trends...Category
Early 2000s Italian Mini Dress
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.