Christian Dior

I'm not a brand-snob. I never by anything just because it has a certain name attached to it. Since I love fashion I like looking through a few magazines once in a while to see what different fashion creators have been up to lately though. I recognize many of the names, and sometimes I can even see what designer did what just by looking at photo from someones fashion show. Most often not though...But of course there are a few I like more than others. My absolute favorite is Christian Dior. J'adore Dior! Ever since Monsieur Dior started his own fashion company in 1946, this man and his designers have managed to create exactly the type of clothing I personally fall for. In 1947 his first collection named "Corolle" ("circlet of flower petals") was shown. Dior himself said about this collection: "I have created flower women". His creations were almost architectural, with cinched in waists, padding around the hip and breast areas, and longer skirts that would flare out from the tiny waists. The amount of fabric that went into these dresses and skirts was outrageous after the long war years, when women had to "make do and mend" as it was called, and fabrics had been rationed. Some people complained about this. Others loved it. The luxury of being able to wear beautiful clothes again after the spartan days of WWII was welcomed by many. It was this "Corolle" collection that got the name "The New Look", and the essential traits of what denoted this can be seen in the first picture below, followed by some other masterpieces I wouldn't mind having in my closet.

Christian Dior died in 1957, and in 1996 John Galliano took over as head designer of the company. Sadly he was fired from the company earlier this year for the anti-semitic little speech he held at a bar on a drunk night out. Of course I don't agree with his racist beliefs, but we all have our faults, and if everyone got fired after blurting out stupid things when we were drunk. Well. Let's just say a frightful amount of people would have to look for new jobs very, very often...When it comes to creating amazing clothes though, Galliano was (and hopefully still is) a genius! His influences are his love of theatre and femininity, and he has said that his "role is to seduce". Below follows a few pictures of his lovely creations.