American Dior

Christian Dior lived the American dream. From the first time he set foot in New York, the legendary designer had a special relationship with the United States, and he may even be more important in America than in France. With the introduction of the New Look, Dior quickly became American fashion's ultimate agent provocateur, playing on the country's appetite for newness and for French savoir-faire. In one gesture, he had given women a whole new shape. Dior's long, voluminous skirts...
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Christian Dior lived the American dream. From the first time he set foot in New York, the legendary designer had a special relationship with the United States, and he may even be more important in America than in France. With the introduction of the New Look, Dior quickly became American fashion's ultimate agent provocateur, playing on the country's appetite for newness and for French savoir-faire. In one gesture, he had given women a whole new shape. Dior's long, voluminous skirts were more extravagant and feminine than anything seen in fashion for decades. From the outset, Dior said that his client would be "The most elegant woman in the world," which quickly proved to be true, dressing American style icons such as Lauren Bacall, Grace Kelly, Marilyn Monroe, and Elizabeth Taylor. Dior's New Look expressed the longing for fantasy and relief of a culture that had been crippled by war. "It was a success only because it reflected the mood of the times," says Dior, "a mood that sought refuge from the mechanical and impersonal in return to tradition." The sweeping folds and the overtly feminine, nipped-in waists arrived precisely when women craved luxury and femininity the most. What followed were detailed drawings of the elaborate foundations, accordion pleats and whale-boned corselets reinforcing Dior's great skirts and snug jackets. In many ways the Dior brand would come to be defined as much by the American press and consumer as it was by the feminine and romantic taste of the designer himself. AUTHOR: Kate Betts is a contributing editor at Time magazine and until this year was also the editor of Time Style & Design, a special supplement to the magazine. Previously, Betts was the editor in chief of Harper's Bazaar and the fashion news director of Vogue. Betts began her career in Paris where she was a reporter and later a bureau chief of Women's Wear Daily. She is the author of the forthcoming book Everyday Icon: Michelle Obama and the Power of Style. A graduate of Princeton University, Betts resides in New York City with her husband and two children. 70 illustrations