In researching that phenomenon, I came across some very interesting discussion around the image of Renée wearing the Bar suit, famously shot by Willy Maywald, who often shot Dior’s clothes for the house. The models would pose outside, and photographers would have to pay the models a fee for the privilege. Before then, fashion houses would either allow images to be shown via drawing, or would select outfits from the collection (usually around five) and allow photographers to shoot them. It really shows that the modern phenomenon of the “runway show” hadn’t developed by that point it wouldn’t be in place until the start of the 1970s, really. The final Yves Saint Laurent show for Dior (Fall 1960), the shocking “Beat” collection, is actually shown via static shots in the Dior salon the prior show is illustrated from stills from newsreel footage. It’s amazing that there is such a supply of images-although a few shows are missing full documentation. The photo sourcing and selection was undertaken by my coauthor, Adélia Sabatini, and the team at Thames & Hudson in London. Here-once again-things were done on a grand scale.” It was on a par with current political and economic news. “The opening of Christian Dior’s new Paris couture house,” noted Vogue in its April 1947 issue, “not only presented an extraordinarily beautiful collection it gave the French couture a new assurance in its own abilities and because the luxury trades are economic necessity in France, Dior’s flashing success was, in Paris, more than fashion. It also reasserted the sovereignty of Paris as the capital of fashion.

With its voluptuous yardage, softness, and homage to femininity, the New Look offered an antidote to the horrors and deprivations of war. Not only was the silhouette a confident one, it was symbolic. The most iconic piece from the collection, the Bar suit, had a lightning rod effect on fashion that lasted for nearly a decade. Dior was 42 when, in February 1947, in a freezing post-war Paris, he made a debut that the press dubbed the “New Look,” despite its nostalgic, throwback curves borrowed from the Belle Epoque.

Dior new couture book