Edited by Lester Brathwaite on
To commemorate the passing of yet another New York Fashion Week, LIFE opened up its impressive vaults and dug up their original coverage of Christian Dior‘s iconic “New Look,” along with previously unpublished images taken from a Dior show in Paris in 1948. Included is a terrific article by Jeanne Perkins in which she refers to the diminutive designer as “a timid, middle-aged, insignificant-looking little Frenchman.” Still, Perkins was well-aware of the impact that Dior’s collection would have on fashion:
“Dior had, in fact, begun the third fashion revolution of the 20th Century,” she writes. “Paul Poiret had revolutionized women’s clothes in 1910, Gabrielle Chanel had staged the next uprising after World War I. In February 1947 Christian Dior ushered in the New Look.” Poiret, Chanel and Dior all “managed to uproot the current style and replace it with their own by following the basic axiom which has been the source of every major style change in history: study the fundamental trends of your time and then go against them.”
For the rest of the review from the March 1948 issue of LIFE — and for more historic photos — click here.
I was center square from 1969 to 1978, during which I perfected the art of the zing as well as a crippling cocaine addiction. Bea Arthur was responsible for both.
@LesFabian
lester at fashionindie.com