Vogue

April 1947, 1953

A rare and special edition of Vogue magazine – the legendary issue covering Christian Dior’s first collection.

 

“The opening of Christian Dior's new Paris couture house,” noted Vogue in its April 1947 issue, “not only presented an extraordinarily beautiful collection; it gave the French couture a new assurance in its own abilities; and because the luxury trades are economic necessity in France, Dior's flashing success was, in Paris, more than fashion. It was on a par with current political and economic news. Here—once again—things were done on a grand scale.”

 

Reviewing Dior’s first show, Vogue described this “Paris sensation; his new silhouette” as “the market-woman shape, a direct steal from the heavily padded canvas-stiffened skirts the women wear in Les Halles near Notre Dame.”

 

The New Look also reflected postwar developments in fashion. Vogue categorized the Spring 1947 season as one in which designers made “new use of fashion themes that have been crystallizing for seasons past, and which now look fresh and inviting.”

 

In fact, in its May 1945 issue, the magazine had published a piece titled “What’s the New Look in Paris? It’s ‘hanché’—full-figured, definitely hippy.” These antecedents are mentioned only to give a place Dior’s singular achievement.

 

The New Look, suggested Vogue at the time, was “the most legible fashion change in over a decade.”

 

Three years later, the magazine summed up its (symbolic) importance, imagining the silhouette being worn by a woman named Centura. “Nowhere about her is a trace of skimp or skeleton to be seen. Her bosom, her shoulders, and her hips are round, her waist is tiny as her grandmother’s, her skirt’s bulk suggests fragile, feminine legs beneath. By these means, she and Christian Dior announce to the world that peace is at hand, and parsimony past, and every woman’s a woman again.”

 

In Dior’s hands, a dress was more than a dress; with the New Look, the designer gave form to his stated belief that “fashion is one of the last repositories of the marvellous.”

 

In excellent condition for its age. Minor creases and signs of wear commensurate with age, but with bright and clean pages throughout. A fantastic find.