Vintage CHRISTIAN DIOR Ivory Silk Camisole Top and Maxi Skirt ensemble
View Similar Items
Vintage CHRISTIAN DIOR Ivory Silk Camisole Top and Maxi Skirt ensemble
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: Small/4 (US)Bust: 32 in (81.28 cm)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Material Notes:knit, lace and silk
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Beverly Hills, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU4261864613
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 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.
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.
- 1970s HALSTON Baby Blue Sleeveless Cashmere Vintage Sweater 70s DressBy HalstonLocated in Beverly Hills, CA1970s HALSTON Baby Blue Sleeveless Cashmere Sweater 70s maxi Dress. Fit Size 2/4/6 Bust: 32 - 36 inch Waist: 32- 36 inch Hip : 36 - 38 inch / Dress Length: 55 inch **** This Garme...Category
1970s American Day Dresses
- 80s blue beaded sheer dressLocated in Beverly Hills, CA80s blue beaded sheer dress. Size: 4/6 Bust: 36"/ Waist: 36"/ Hips: 38"/ Length: 48"/ sleeve length: 23"Category
1980s Unknown Cocktail Dresses
- Vintage 1970s GUCCI Creme and Blue Plaid Linen 70s Day DressBy GucciLocated in Beverly Hills, CAVintage 1970s Gucci creme and blue plaid linen dress. Bust: 36"/ Waist: 32"/ Hip: 36"/ Length: 42"Category
1970s Italian Casual Dresses
- 80s Zandra Rhodes off white silk dress with butterfly printBy Zandra RhodesLocated in Beverly Hills, CAVintage 80s Zandra Rhodes off white silk dress with butterfly print. Bust: 36'/ waist: 29"/ HIp: 34"/ length: 39Category
1980s British Evening Dresses and Gowns
- 1970s Mollie Parnis Grey Metallic Velvet One Shoulder GownBy Mollie ParnisLocated in Beverly Hills, CAChic Vintage 1970s Mollie Parnis gray metallic velvet one shoulder dress. Zip at the back. Dress is lined in silk. Perfect Cocktail DRess Siz...Category
1970s American Maxi Dresses
- Comme des Garçons Grey and White plaid cotton dressBy Comme des Garçons, Rei Kawakubo Comme Des GarconsLocated in Beverly Hills, CAComme does Garçons Grey and white plaid sleeveless cotton dress. Size: small - 2/4Category
Early 2000s Japanese Cocktail Dresses
- ALEXANDER MCQUEEN green silk PLATOS ATLANTIS PRAYING MANTIS GOWN Dress LBy Alexander McQueenLocated in Zürich, CHAlexander McQueen 'Praying Mantis' empire down in green silk (100%) with a round neck and is sleeveless. This collector piece is from the SS 2010 Platos Atlantis collection. Flares f...Category
2010s Unknown Cocktail Dresses
$11,000 Sale Price20% OffFree Shipping - Alberta Ferretti Gray Cotton Vintage Off Shoulder DressBy Alberta FerrettiLocated in Brindisi, BtAlberta Ferretti 90s vintage off shoulder dress. Short dress with sweetheart neckline, gray with white stitching. Zip closure along the chest, on th...Category
1990s Italian Cocktail Dresses
- Antik Batik Pink Silk Leather Kaftan Blouson DressLocated in Brindisi, BtAntik Batik women's vintage short dress. Powder pink color, 100% silk, applications sewn by hand 100% leather. V-neckline, elasticated waist belt, lined. 1...Category
1990s Indian Tunics and Wrap Dresses
- Arnold Scaasi Vintage Dress Off Shoulder Floral Organza over Green silkBy Arnold ScaasiLocated in Portland, ORThis is a vintage floral dress from designer Arnold Scaasi. The dress is in a beautiful floral printed organza over a rich green silk and has love...Category
20th Century Cocktail Dresses
- Ronaldus Shamask Avant Garde 1980's Vintage Cream Wool Dress Size 6/8By Ronaldus ShamaskLocated in Portland, ORThis vintage cream dress was designed by Ronaldus Shamask in the 1980's. The dress has front pockets, a back button at the neck, made of a fine woo...Category
1980s American Day Dresses
- Carlye White Pique Vintage Dress 2pc Lace Mesh Peek a Boo Peplum Bodice XSBy CarlyeLocated in Portland, ORThis is an outstanding 2 piece vintage dress in white cotton pique with sleeveless peplum top and slim, straight skirt. This Carlye vintage 1960s outfit has a pretty back bow and in...Category
1960s American Day 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.