The New Look
When I think of Dior, I think of The New Look. I think tight waist and blossoming skirts. I think elegance and femininity.
The New Look is the mother of the hourglass figure. The New Look is all about tiny and soft shoulders, high and pointed busts, clinched and tiny waists, big hips, and a long voluminous skirt.
During the war, women resided in plain boxier styles. One of the reasons The New Look gained so much attention is because it brought femininity and extravagance back to women. It was refreshing and alluring to return to elegance.
Where did the name come from?
The New Look was the name given to Christian Dior’s debut collection (also called la ligne corolle) under his very own fashion house. Corolle is French for the circle of petals on a flower, and in reason, much of Christian’s collection was inspired by the shape of an upside-down petal shape.
“I created the flower women with gentle shoulders and generous bosoms, with tiny waists like stems and skirts belling out like petals.” - Christian Dior
Why is it called the New Look?
In attendance at the fashion show was Carmel snow, the editor-in-chief of harper’s bazaar. After the show ended, she approached Christian with excitement and said “ It’s quite a revolution dear Christian! Your dresses have such a modern look!” People overheard this phrase and began describing his collection as something new and revolutionary to fashion, thus the New Look.
Why was The New Look so important?
The New Look was evolutionary because it completely changed waistlines and silhouettes. This style was designed to create illusions of a smaller waist and wider hips while previously, dresses were fit to a women’s body shape.
Two different New Look styles
Christian Dior created two silhouettes in his debut collection (shown below). Both fall into the category of the New Look.
The dress on the left features a narrower skirt while the dress on the right had a fuller skirt.
Beauty standards.
Because this collection changed the face of fashion, beauty standards changed as well. The tinier the waist the better. Some might argue that Dior was the birth of naturally unobtainable beauty standards for women.
Fashion is a response to the outside world.
In this case, Christian’s collection is a response to women wanting to return to classy and elegant dresses after the war. During the war, the majority of resources were going towards the war effort. Women had less fabrics, which meant the creativity of fashion was limited during the war. Furthermore, women contributed to the war effort by helping as a nurse or even enlisting themselves, which led to the rise of utility wear. Women’s fashion was about comfort and utility rather than beauty. This led to a surge of clothes that weren’t exactly considered feminine. After the war, women were eager to return to fashion before the war, which Dior understood and monopolized off of. Two years after the end of WW2 birthed the New Look.
Women went wild over The New Look because broad shoulders changed to narrow shoulders, natural waists changed to cinched waists, knee-length hemlines changed into mid-calf hemlines. The transition from a strong and powerful silhouette into a dainty and feminine one completely shook the world.
Inspiration from history
The inspiration for this collection came from old styles from the 18th and 19th century.
How was The New Look achieved?
In order to achieve The New Look, women had to wear corsets so tight it often led to health or digestive issues. Dior actually faced controversy for putting women back in corsets. Some critics argued that it was a step back for feminism and the evolution of women in society. Women also wore girdles to shape their waist as well as petticoats to achieve the fullness of the skirt.
Celebrity attention
Just like the world of fashion today, clothes are promoted when a well known person is seen wearing it. Grace Kelly, Princess Margaret, and Eva Peron furthermore spread the popularity of the New Look.
The spread of The New Look
The New Look is not limited to Dior dresses. After the Dior collection gained much attention, brands like Balenciaga and Givenchy created their own versions of the New Look. However, this renaissance in women’s fashion was not confined to designer wear. American warehouses, catalogs, and more affordable fashion all adopted The New Look.
The Legacy of The New Look
Dior’s fashion trend would go on to last about 15 years, and it would set the basis for the house of Dior. Christian Dior’s ideas and essence is still so evident in Dior’s haute couture to this day. In creative director, Raf Simmons’s first Dior collection, his goal was to combine Christian’s New Look with modern fashion styles today. He wanted to achieve the style of the New Look silhouette but make it more comfortable for modern working women. The spirit of Christian Dior will linger around the house of Dior forever.
Opposition from the Queen of fashion.
Many women disapproved of Christian’s look, including Coco Chanel. When asked about Dior’s collection, Coco stated,
“Clothes by a man who doesn’t know women, never had one, and dreams of being one!” - Coco Chanel
Coco was all about comfort. Chanel Under Coco was the definition of class and elegance with modernity and comfort. Her clothes are fit for the workplace, while Dior’s clothes were not. After the growing popularity of Dior, Coco responded with the iconic fashion staple, the Chanel cardigan suit and jacket. Like the new look, Coco’s cardigan suit and Dior’s silhouette would become a staple in every women’s closet. Like Dior, the Chanel cardigans are still seen in modern fashion today, most prominently during Karl Lagerfeld’s reign as creative director. These two trends co-existed and dominated fashion for many years, and is still a huge influence of fashion today.