Musée Christian Dior to Focus on New Look Revolution

The Bar suit shown at a lecture given by Christian Dior at the Sorbonne, 1955.

© Patrick Demarchelier

The Bar suit, Spring-Summer 1947 Haute Couture collection, Corolle line

Bar, afternoon suit, corolla skirt, black wool, natural shantung jacket,” so reads the description of one of the outfits presented by Christian Dior for his first ever Haute Couture collection in 1947. With shortages still prevalent in the post-war period, the vast amounts of fabric in the corolla skirt sparked a debate while its feminine line evoked a return to the art of seduction with the graphic line of the jacket encapsulating Dior’s new vision.

The Bar suit ushered in a new fashion era and this summer, the Musée Christian Dior is celebrating its story with “Dior, the New Look Revolution,” an exhibition dedicated to the iconic creation that has continued to inspire new generations of designers for the house.

© Patrick Demarchelier

“Dior Red” cashmere “Bar” coat, Autumn-Winter 2012 Haute Couture collection.

Housed in the couturier’s childhood home in Granville, Normandy, the exhibition is curated by fashion historian Florence Müller and will include original garments as well as photographs and archives that reveal the complexity behind the shoulder line and the collar structure as well as the savoir fair leading to the creation of the skirt and the volume of the basques, which overall required 50 hours of handiwork.

Amongst the more recent creation inspired by the suit are a bracelet with diamond and emerald pleats by Victoire de Castellane and a horsehair skirt with oversized pleats designed by Raf Simons.

“Dior, the New Look Revolution” will run June 1 – November 1, 2015.

First published on BlouinArtinfo.com