Alexandre Vassiliev Foundation esitleb: Christian Dior ”The Elegancy of Dior Women”

THE SPIRIT OF DIOR Six decades have passed since the first collection of the House of Christian Dior, which the famous Carmel Snow, at that time the editor-in-chief of Harper's Bazaar, dubbed the “newlook" - "new image". And the public called this collection “Dior’s bomb.” Not many fashion houses, or more precisely, almost none, have managed to become a “classic” The first exhibition in Estonia of the unforgettable creations of the House of Chriatian Dior from the Alexandre Vassiliev Foundation opened at Fall Castle.The magic of the word “Dior” has made this House synonymous with elegance of the highest order. Dior was a dictator of taste, a "tyrant of pins" as his contemporaries called him.Christian Dior was born on January 21, 1905 in Granville into the family of an industrialist. Since childhood he idolized his mother, an elegant Belle Époque enchantress who played a huge role inthe development of the talent of the future couturier. In his youth, Dior dreamed of a diplomatic career, studied, traveled and loved museums. His new surroundings, the Parisian bohemia of the 1920s, captivated the young man, who, to his displeasure, parents, chose art over a diplomatic career.In 1934, in Paris, Dior first decided to take up fashion illustration. Dior actually began his design career in 1939, receiving his first engagement in as a cutter for the fashion house of Robbert Piguet (1898–1953). During the Second World War Dior seeks a job as a cutter for Lucien Lelong(1889–1958), who was in those years the president of the Parisian “Syndicate of Haute Couture”.   Soon after the liberation of Paris, a good friend of the now forty-year-old Dior introduced him to textile industrialist Marcel Boissac. Using Boissac's fabrics and capital, Dior officially registeredown company. But they started talking about the House of Dior only after the first collection shown in epochal day, February 12, 1947. The first show created a real sensation, which was completed by the legendary phrase of the editor of the American magazine Harpers Bazaar Carmel Snow: “This is a real revolution, dear Christian, your dresses have a completely new look.The Dior bomb exploded at an extremely opportune moment. After the end of the bloody andthe exhausting war, women all over the world were expecting some kind of novelty, in tune with the times.  The masterpiece of his first collection, which reflected all the formulas of the classical elegance of the 1950s, became the famous “Bar” suit, consisting of a fitted, emphasizing the chest and flowing shoulders of a jacket made of white scallop and flared black calf-length woolen skirt. Fame and scandal were born at the same time. The fact is that the “new look” was the complete opposite of the military silhouettes of the 1940s, concealed and leveled female figures thanks to padded hangers. Dior demanded to forget the image of war that was habitually hanging in the closet. Dior was the first to emphasize the beauty of the female torso, waist, and created the length of his wide skirts the illusion of some kind of romantic flair.   The couturier himself said: “We never we invent, we always borrow something.”   Introducing into the collections of 1948–1953 tulle petticoats, corsets, belts - everything that created the strict charm of our mothers and grandmothers.     Dior's collections in the 1950s were extremely popular. Dior hats were made by a RomanianBricard, and the shoes, nicknamed “even if you stand, even if you fall,” ruined the feet of a whole generation of women, just like the parquet floors of museums in all countries, they were created by the famous Roger Vivier. It's interesting that already Since the 1950s, the entire range of Dior perfumes - "Miss Dior", "Diorella", "Diorissimo" - has been owned by the champagne company Moët et Chandon.  Today, many dresses from Dior’s collections are kept in museums in France and the USA, as well as in private Foundations and collections.   In the mid-1950s, young Yves Saint Laurent became an assistant to Dior, and it was herecreated his first models. After Dior's sudden death in 1957, Saint Laurent was entrusted with the management of the House's collections, and already in 1958 he amazed the world with an ingenious invention - A-line silhouette without a waist, with a shorter skirt. However, the next collection, in 1959, was a clear failure and cost Saint Laurent his place. He was drafted into the army, and in his place was appointed the recently deceased Mark Bohan, who led the House for about 30 years - three times longer than Dior himself. Under Mark Bohan, the House of Dior dressed Princess Grace Monaco, her daughters Stefania and Caroline, Countess Christiana Brandolini, movie stars Liz Taylor,Leslie Caron, Sophia Loren, Ingrid Bergman.For some time since 1989, Christian Dior, a wholly owned together with Givenchy and Christian Lacroix for the Louis Vuitton-Moet-Hennessy concern, headed Gianfranco Ferre. He worked at the House of Dior for eight years, and in 1997, unexpectedly left the famous building on Avenue Montaigne. After Ferre announced his resignation, whoever was predicted to take his place. And here are the collections for John Galliano, who had only been chief stylist for "Givenchy" only a year, began to do Dior's houses. He gave this respectable House a second wind. Nee and he are fired as a result of a scandal in the press.  alliano was replaced in 2012 by the Belgian Raf Simons, who in turn was replaced in 2016 by the Italian Varia Grazia Chiuri, who continues the glory of this wonderful fashion house today. This wonderful exhibition introduces the style and spirit of Paris in the silhouettes of Dior's style Alexandre VassilievPresident of the Foundation, Lithuania