Christian Dior Prototype Patron Model Ilona, Summer Collection 1953
View Similar Items
Christian Dior Prototype Patron Model Ilona, Summer Collection 1953
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: Equivalent french size 34/36 (EU)
- Style:1953 (Of the Period)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Excellent condition and color.
- Seller Location:Toulon, FR
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU63334560783
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.
- A Rare and Early Jeanne Lanvin Haute Couture Chiffon and satin Dress Winter 1920By Jeanne LanvinLocated in Toulon, FRWinter 1920-1921 France. Long dress in black silk crepe by Jeanne Lanvin Haute Couture. Wide shape with back of the dress longer than the front. Fitting the skirt, split on the sid...Category
1920s French Aesthetic Day Dresses
- A Biba black embroidered mini Dress, Circa 1970-1980By BibaLocated in Toulon, FRCirca 1970-1980 England. Biba black mini dress and gold sequined collar. Opened on the back. Large and wide sleeves. Dress composed of a large t-shirt and a mini skirt, belt tight ...Category
1970s English Mini Dress
- A French Flowered Printed Chiffon Dress With Removable Skirt, circa 1950-1960Located in Toulon, FRCirca 1950-1960 France Unlabelled dress very good manufacturing, high-quality garment, chiffon flowers on green background. Short sleeves. Scarf neck can be tied. Fine pleated skir...Category
1950s French Casual Dresses
- Marc Jacobs black waxed satin Dress, circa 2000By Marc JacobsLocated in Toulon, FRCirca 2000 United States Marc Jacobs black waxed satin dress, cut inspired from the 1920s revisited in a modern way, typical of the designer's spirit. On the bottom of the skirt, p...Category
Early 2000s American Cocktail Dresses
- A Jeanne Lanvin Couture cocktail Dress, Circa 1965By Jeanne LanvinLocated in Toulon, FRCirca 1965 France Elegant cocktail dress in black gazar and thin stripes gold, vermilion, gray and garnet-colored from the famous Maison Lanvin directed by Jules François Grahay sin...Category
1960s French Cocktail Dresses
- Jean-Louis Scherrer French Couture Black Velvet Dress Circa 1990By Jean-Louis ScherrerLocated in Toulon, FRCirca 1990 France Long evening dress in black silk velvet by Jean-Louis Scherrer Haute Couture dating from the 1990s. Pleated collar in bouillonné velvet ruff found on the sleeves and the bottom of the dress which is flared. Psyquedelic embroidery of multicolored flowers in polychrome silk, rhinestones and silver beads on the sleeves and on the wide belt. Closure of the dress at the back by zipper and hook at the collar. Black taffeta lining. Label Jean-Louis Scherrer St. Avenue Montaigne...Category
1990s French Aesthetic Evening Dresses
- Vintage Dolce & Gabbana black mini dress with crystal trim details S/S1995By Dolce & GabbanaLocated in London, GBVintage Dolce & Gabbana black mini dress with crystal details S/S1995. The dress is in good condition just light signs of use around the crystals. ▪ Black rayon chiffon with lining ▪...Category
1990s Italian Mini Dress
$1,204 Sale Price48% Off - Jean Paul Gaultier JPG Soleil Golden Eagle Hawk Kendall Jenner Skirt Top SetBy Jean Paul Gaultier Soleil, Jean Paul GaultierLocated in PARIS, FRJean Paul Gaultier JPG Soleil Vintage Japanese Golden Eagle Koi Fish Kendall Jenner Wave Yellow Mesh Sheer Transparent Wrap T-shirt Skirt Top Dress Golden Japanese Eagle...Category
1990s Maxi Dresses
$1,990 Sale Price30% OffFree Shipping - Chanel black wool dress pre fall 2011 Paris Byzance FR 46By ChanelLocated in Rubiera, RECHANEL Pre-fall 2011 PARIS BYZANCE Métiers d'Art Look 11/67 Black wool jersey dress embellished with 6 jewel ornaments. Size FR 46 Made in France 100% wool ...Category
2010s French Cocktail Dresses
- Lanvin long velvet dress 60s/70sBy Lanvin ParisLocated in Rubiera, RELANVIN 22. Faubourg St. Honoré _ PARIS 60s/70s Long printed velvet dress with large shocking pink and ruby red roses on a brown and gray background Round ne...Category
1970s French Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Miu Miu by Miuccia Prada green wool fleece slip dress with crystals, ss 1998By Miu Miu, PradaLocated in London, GB▪ Miu Miu wool fleece slip dress ▪ Designed by Miuccia Prada ▪ Allover flat-back crystals ▪ Lace-up ties to the front opening ▪ Loose fit ▪ Fully line...Category
1990s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Christian Dior by John Galliano blue open-knit sleeveless bodycon dress, ss 2000By John Galliano for Christian Dior, Christian DiorLocated in London, GB▪ Christian Dior blue open-knit bodycon dress ▪ Designed by John Galliano ▪ Crew neck ▪ Knee-length ▪ Various knitted techniques used to create a shredded appearance to the fabric ▪...Category
Early 2000s French Evening Dresses and Gowns
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.