Autumn/Winter 1977 Christian Dior Haute Couture Trench Coat with Fur Collar
About the Item
- Designer:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Toronto, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU228216936602
Christian Dior Haute Couture
When Christian Dior launched his haute couture house, in 1946, he wanted nothing less than to make “an elegant woman more beautiful and a beautiful woman more elegant.” He succeeded, and in doing so the visionary designer altered the landscape of 20th century fashion. Vintage Dior bags, shoes, evening dresses, shirts and other garments and accessories are known today for their feminine and sophisticated sensibility.
Dior was born in Granville, on the Normandy coast, in 1905. His prosperous haute bourgeois parents wanted him to become a diplomat despite his interest in art and architecture. However, they agreed to bankroll an art gallery, which Dior opened in 1928 in Paris with a friend.
This was the start of Dior’s rise in the city’s creative milieu, where he befriended Pablo Picasso and Jean Cocteau. After seven years as an art dealer, Dior retrained as a fashion illustrator, eventually landing a job as a fashion designer for Robert Piguet, and in 1941, following a year of military service, he joined the house of Lucien Lelong. Just five years later, with the backing of industrialist Marcel Boussac, the ascendant Dior established his own fashion house, at 30 avenue Montaigne in Paris.
Two years after the end of World War II, the fashion crowd and the moribund haute couture industry were yearning, comme tout Paris, for security and prosperity, desperate to discard the drab, sexless, utilitarian garb imposed by wartime deprivation. They needed to dream anew.
And Dior delivered: He designed a collection for a bright, optimistic future.
“It’s quite a revolution, dear Christian!” exclaimed Carmel Snow, the prescient American editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar, famously proclaiming, “Your dresses have such a new look.” The press ran with the description, christening Dior’s debut Spring/Summer haute couture collection the New Look. “God help those who bought before they saw Dior,” said Snow. “This changes everything.”
Dior’s collection definitively declared that opulence, luxury and femininity were in. His skirts could have 40-meter-circumference hems, and outfits could weigh up to 60 pounds. They were cut and shaped like architecture, on strong foundations that molded women and “freed them from nature,” Dior said. Rather than rationing, his ladies wanted reams of fabric and 19-inch waists enforced by wire corsets, and the fashion world concurred. The debut got a standing ovation.
In the subsequent decade, Paris ruled as the undisputed fashion capital of the world, and Christian Dior reigned as its king. With the luxuriously full skirts of his New Look, suits and his drop-dead gorgeous couture evening dresses and ball gowns worthy of any princess, Dior gave women the gift of glamour they’d lost in the miserable years of war.
Find vintage Dior haute couture dresses and gowns for sale on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Toronto, Canada
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 1 day of delivery.
- 1960s Nina Ricci White and Black Floral Linen CoatBy Nina RicciLocated in Toronto, OntarioEarly Nina Ricci piece, dating from the 1960's. Coat is white linen with a gorgeous print of outlined flowers in black. Floral print has a loose quality, looks as though it was sketc...Category
1960s French Coats
- 1970's Leonard Cotton Quilted OvercoatBy LeonardLocated in Toronto, OntarioEye catching Leonard quilted overcoat from the 1970's. In excellent condition with no signs of wear. Fastens down the front with covered snaps and a single fabric toggle below the sh...Category
1970s French Overcoats
- 1960's Tiktiner Tan and Green Double Sided Wool CoatBy TiktinerLocated in Toronto, OntarioTan woven wool single breasted day coat from the 1960's double sided with a striking kelly green felted wool collar and interior. Over sized horn buttons suggest the look of today. I...Category
1960s French Coats
- Late 1960s Bonnie Cashin Mutli-Colored Plaid Wool Cape with Leather TrimBy Bonnie CashinLocated in Toronto, OntarioLate 1960's Bonnie Cashin plaid cape with tones of pink, purple, red, black, brown, yellow and green. Trimmed in black leather with large black leather and gold tone metal buckles. G...Category
1960s American Capes
- 1980's Genny Brown Kimono Style Wool CoatBy GennyLocated in Toronto, OntarioJapanese influenced coat with large Kimono sleeves and an overall swing fit. Dates from the mid 1980's, the Montana era at the House of Genny. The chocolate brown wool topper...Category
1980s French Coats
- 1990s Issey Miyake Brown Felted Wool PeacoatBy Issey MiyakeLocated in Toronto, OntarioIssey Miyake coat from the 1990s. Brown felted wool with hand cut scalloped trim. Matching large brown plastic buttons. Oversize lapel. Stunning tailoring and draping with beautiful ...Category
1990s Japanese Coats
- BRUNELLO CUCINELLI brown cotton silk blend belted cuffed padded jacket IT42 MBy Brunello CucinelliLocated in Hong Kong, NTBRUNELLO CUCINELLI brown cotton silk blend belted cuffed padded jacket IT42 M Reference: TGAS/B01444 Brand: Brunello Cucinelli Material: Cotton Color: Brown Pattern: Solid Clos...Category
2010s Italian Fur Puffer Coats
- Trompe L'oeil Oversize Belted Trench CoatLocated in Water Mill, NYA fabulous beige and black cotton trompe l'oeil trench coat jacket from Japanese designers Naoki Ichihara, Tadanao Yamashita and Shingo Otsuka for TALK ABOUT ...Category
2010s Japanese Trench Coats
- Edwardian White Cotton Embroidered Lace 3 Tiered Skirt DressLocated in New York, NYEdwardian White Cotton Embroidered Lace 3 Tiered Skirt DressCategory
Early 1800s Car Coats
- 1970'S Japanese Shibori Hand Dyed Ombre Blue To Purple Silk Gold Embroidered KLocated in New York, NY1970'S Japanese Shibori Hand Dyed Ombre Blue To Purple Silk Gold Embroidered KimonoCategory
1970s Car Coats
- I. Magnin Vintage 1960s Graphic Black + White Print Silk Mod CoatBy I. MagninLocated in Sparks, NVFantastic black and white silk coat in a graphic mod print by I. Magnin. Details: Fully Lined Front Pockets Front Button and Snap Closure Mark...Category
1960s American Coats
- MORPHEW COLLECTION Blue Paisley Wool Cocoon Duster With Velvet Ribbon TrimBy MorphewLocated in New York, NYMORPHEW COLLECTION Blue Paisley Wool Cocoon Duster With Velvet Ribbon Trim MORPHEW COLLECTION is made entirely by hand in our NYC Ateliér of rare antique materials sourced from aroun...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Car Coats