Dior: The New Look Revolution
A new exhibition and book titled Dior: The New Look Revolution retraces the story of the Bar suit, the iconic manifesto of Christian Dior’s first collection.
Since its introduction, the Bar suit has persistently inspired the House of Dior’s contemporary creations. Introduced on February 12, 1947, the Bar suit, forming part of Christian Dior’s first haute couture collection, laid the grounds of a new era, the triumph of femininity.
Creating a revolution in fashion, the Bar suit with its black skirt and ecru jacket became the manifesto and icon of the New Look.
Being an artistic accomplishment the suit required 50 hours of handiwork and special savoir-faire when it was first introduced. While some of the techniques have been modernised over time, confection of the legendary piece still respects the same essential stages this day.
Fashion historian Florence Müller is the curator of the Dior: The New Look Revolution exhibition, which is currently being housed in Christian Dior’s childhood home in Normandy, France. It explores the journey and evolution of the legendary piece as well as the complexity of its composition through photographs and archives. Further, a selection of contemporary creations by Raf Simons revisits the iconic suit.
The book, written by Laurence Benaïm, delves into the same journey that the exhibition showcases by providing details about the historic evolution of the Bar suit. Further, it explores the production of the suit by taking readers into the ateliers at the 30 avenue Montaigne Paris location where the art of the suit’s craftsmanship has been passed down since its creation in 1947. Photos and anecdotes from past and present seamstresses explore the process of its development from the pattern to the last press from an iron, as well as the challenges related to its subtle architecture. These include the impressive yardage of fabric, the difficulty of finding shantung, the complexity behind the shoulder line and the collar structure, the optical illusions in the skirt and the volume of the basques.
Raf Simons who reinvents the structure in a modern, more lightweight style, shares his vision for the Bar suit in an interview specially conducted for the book. Simons elaborates on the piece’s timelessness, feminine dimensions and his personal ways of reinventing it.
The exhibition will be on display until Sunday 1 November 2015 at the Musée Christian Dior in Granville, France while the book is available for purchase at Rizzoli.
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