Christian Dior Rare Russian Sable Fur Coat
View Similar Items
Christian Dior Rare Russian Sable Fur Coat
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Length: 32.68 in (83 cm)Marked Size: No size label approx size M (EU)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:Seller: 0340171stDibs: LU55031966233
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.
- Yohji Yamamoto Men's Black & Red Wool Zipper Front Jacket with PocketsBy Yohji YamamotoLocated in New York, NYYohji Yamamoto black & red wool knit men's zipper front jacket features a two-way zipper with two tabs for the option of opening either from the top or at the bottom. The fro...Category
1980s Japanese Jackets
$885 Sale Price53% Off - Rare 1940s Ermine Summer Fur Luxurious Honey Brown Jacket Coat Scalloped EdgesLocated in San Diego, CAWonderful and hard to find summer ermine fur (cousin to th mink) jacket coat! Ermines are white during the winter months (to blend in with the snow), and transform into this beautifu...Category
1940s Jackets
- Arnold Scaasi Couture Vintage Camel Wool Coat, 1960sBy Arnold Scassi, Arnold ScaasiLocated in Sparks, NVCouture 1960s vintage mod coat by Arnold Scaasi in camel colored wool. Fully lined with front button closure. Hidden front pockets. Fits like a modern...Category
1960s American Coats and Outerwear
- Vintage Calvin Klein Brown 1980s Glen Plaid Double Breasted 80s Wool Jacket CoatBy Calvin KleinLocated in San Diego, CAChic early 1980s vintage CALVIN KLEIN brown glen plaid double breasted wool jacket coat! Classic silhouette with neutral colors of brown, tan and black throughout. Pockets at each si...Category
1980s Italian Coats
- 1960s Galanos Vintage Floral Print Mod Coat with Cropped Sleeves + Red LiningBy James GalanosLocated in Sparks, NVRare vintage 1960s coat by James Galanos with an allover floral print and bright red lining. Fully lined with front button closure. Hidden front pockets. Fits like a modern size smal...Category
1960s American Coats
- Judith Ann Vintage Heavy + Warm Wool Shaggy Faux Fur Jacket or Coat 1980sBy Judith AnnLocated in Sparks, NVIncredible heavy weight shaggy wool jacket in two tone brown and beige by Judith Ann. A great fur alternative with the same winter warmth! Fully lined with no closure (hangs open). H...Category
1970s American Jackets
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.