1959/1960 CHRISTIAN DIOR haute couture black silk bubble dress
View Similar Items
1959/1960 CHRISTIAN DIOR haute couture black silk bubble dress
About the Item
- Designer:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: 4 (US)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Material Notes:silk
- Condition:excellent.
- Seller Location:San Fransisco, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: AU121102811880
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.
- YVES SAINT LAURENT by Stefano Pilati black draped caftan dressBy Yves Saint LaurentLocated in San Fransisco, CADramatic, jet black caftan dress with draped sides at designed by Stefano Pilati for Yves Saint Laurent dating to spring of 2009' Labeled a French size XXS although this dress is ver...Category
Early 2000s French Evening Gowns
- new 2017 SAINT LAURENT by Anthony Vaccarello black velvet RUNWAY dress with roseBy Yves Saint LaurentLocated in San Fransisco, CADramatic, jet black velvet dress with long attached scarf and rose brooch detail designed by Anthony Vaccarello for Saint Laurent exactly as seen on the 2017 fall runway. Dress can b...Category
2010s French Evening Gowns
- 1980's LORIS AZZARO metallic black ruched dress with beaded waist embellishmentBy Loris AzzaroLocated in San Fransisco, CAMetallic black dress with ruched bodice and beaded waist embellishment designed by Loris Azzaro dating to the early 1980's. No size indicated however this dress best fits a 4-6. Mea...Category
1970s French Evening Dresses and Gowns
- 1990's AZZEDINE ALAIA black sleeveless knit dress with sheer hemBy Azzedine AlaïaLocated in San Fransisco, CAJet black knit wool dress with semi sheer crochet detail designed by Azzedine Alaia dating to the 1990's. Labeled a size XS. Measures approximately (unstretched): 24" at bust, 18" at...Category
Late 20th Century Italian Day Dresses
- Jacqueline De Ribes black velvet and tulle dress, 1980sBy Jacqueline de RibesLocated in San Fransisco, CAVery unique, jet-black velvet dress with tulle sleeves from Jacqueline de Ribes dating to the 1980's. Very flattering fitted bodice with full skirt. Fits a US size 4-6. Approximate m...Category
1980s French Evening Dresses and Gowns
- 1970's YVES SAINT LAURENT Black Silk Dress with Marabou Feather TrimBy Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche, Yves Saint LaurentLocated in San Fransisco, CABlack crepe silk mini dress with marabou feather trim and satin bow designed by Yves Saint Laurent dating to the late 1970's. Labeled a French size 38. Approximate measurements: shou...Category
Mid-20th Century French Cocktail Dresses
- 1994MaisonMartinMargiela PlungingOpenChestSlinky BlackBiasRuchedHalter SlitDressBy Maison Martin MargielaLocated in Chicago, ILWith the original hand-sewn off-white unbranded rectangular label of Paris-based Maison Martin Margiela, this asymmetrical plunging v-neck black jersey pullover gown was designed in 1994 by Belgium fashion-designer-cum-artist Martin Margiela. In his early deconstruction style, it partly appears to be a ruched halter dress that is positioned on a bias to add curves to shape the waist, while its open overlapping wrap skirt enables ample draping on one side that conceals a high slit from the waist down. Recalling the construction found in two of Martin Margiela's seminal collections--both the upcycled-split 1950s ballgowns of Spring/Summer 1991 and the draped "Stockman" garments of Spring/Summer 1997--this stretch-viscose dress is likewise a bodice with a split skirt, while its 3/4-length sleeves can recall Margiela's famous "shouldered arm bands" if worn with protruding breasts fully exposed. The top has a wide deep gapping chest or back, along with the option to position the looped "halter" cord that hangs from the torso in one of several ways by pulling over the head. For example, if the dress is worn "backwards" with the brand label resting on the upper chest, the cord from the ruching that is positioned in back can be pulled overhead and under the arms, which can secure the front shoulders of the top by pulling the loop overhead again in the other direction to rest on the back of the neck--like the Martin Margiela Spring/Summer 1997 "Stockman evening dress" in the museum collection of TheMet (see our pic of its smaller open-front black halter and half skirt with the neck strap worn this way.) No doubt the buyer will try more creative ways, too! You may be inspired by our other listing for arguably one of Martin Margiela's best Artisanal Line 0 pieces--a couture body harness--that, like his fashion manifesto, enables endless repurposing of button-down tops to create a plunging v-neckline with a distinct rolled collar. The Italian-size 42 dress...Category
1990s Italian Aesthetic Evening Dresses
- Balenciaga NicolasGhesquiere SilkFlowerPrint StructuredShortSleeve BiasCutDressBy Balenciaga, Nicolas GhesquièreLocated in Chicago, ILWhile at Balenciaga in late 2007, Nicolas Ghesquiere designed this 100%-silk bias-cut paneled dress that explodes with a grey and pale-yellow flower print and features unique technic...Category
Early 2000s French Aesthetic Evening Dresses
- 1990s Louis Feraud Black Cerimony Floral Velvet Vintage Long DressBy Louis FeraudLocated in Brindisi, BtLouis Feraud vintage women dress. Black color, 100% polyester. Long model, floral applications in velvet, adjustable waist belt, collar with flou...Category
1990s German Evening Dresses
$1,147 Sale Price20% Off - Oscar de la Renta 1990's Red & Purple Satin & Velvet Color Block Dress-Size 8By Oscar De La RentaLocated in West Palm Beach, FLOscar de la Renta 1990's Red & Purple Color-Block Dress - 8. This dress is in excellent condition and is long sleeved. The top part is velvet and the ...Category
1990s American Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Vintage 1930's Cartwright Ivory Striped Silk Rayon Cut-Out Maxi Dress & JacketLocated in Beverly Hills, CAThe vibrant rainbow-stripe used on this ivory silk rayon 1930's "Cartwright" designer dress ensemble has a whimsical allure that I find irresistible. The sleeveless bodice has a flir...Category
1930s American Aesthetic Day Dresses
- F/2012 look # 6 NEW VERSACE MACRAME GOTHIC CROSS COCKTAIL SILK DRESS 38 - 2By VersaceLocated in Montgomery, TXVERSACE Actual Runway Samole Fall/Winter 2012 Look # 6 Macrame Gothic Cross Cocktail Dress This long sleeve, turtle neck cocktail dress features an allover macrame Gothic cross...Category
2010s Italian Cocktail Dresses
$3,555 Sale Price40% Off
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.