By investigating the silhouette that Dior ushered in with his Autumn-Winter haute couture collection of 1947, my illustrations look at the ways that Dior manipulated the female form.   This dramatic silhouette was dubbed the “New Look” by then editor of Harper’s Bazaar, Carmel Snow.  Dior’s first défilé (fashion parade), shown in February of that year, was a sensation and quickly re-established Paris as the world’s fashion capital - both in creative and economic terms.

The “New Look”, with its rounded shoulders, tiny waistline, and abundantly full hip was a complete contrast to the shoulder padded, masculine styles that dominated the World War Two era.  Fabric rationing during wartime made the stricter 40s silhouette a necessity, and Dior’s opposite reaction to that silhouette was not without controversy.  Women were attacked in the streets for daring to wear skirts that used upwards of ten metres of fabric.

It is fascinating to explore the subtle ways that Dior reinvents himself during this time, giving each new collection romantic names such as ‘Corolle’ or ‘Envol’.  In keeping with the tradition of haute couture, every garment is also individually named and these are noted on each work.

Christian Dior died suddenly in October 1957, leaving the French fashion industry in a quandary - it was highly reliant on him for its continued prosperity.  In response, the 21 year old head assistant to Dior was promoted to Artistic Director that year.  His name?  Yves Saint Laurent.

A 1997 exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, simply titled “Christian Dior”, was the starting inspiration for my drawings, and the accompanying catalogue provided essential reference material.  Each work was hand drawn using brush, ink and high quality acid free A3 paper.