Cocktail dress

Christian Dior|House of Dior

spring/summer 1956 · silk, wool · Costume Institute

Christian Dior established his own design house in 1947 and designed for eleven years before his death. His garments are often celebrated for their fanciful surface ornamentation and luxurious textiles, but hallmarks of Dior's sensibility can be seen even in a plain cocktail dress like this example. Almost monastic in its simplicity, the dress has a silhouette that emphasizes the waistline and a version of the full skirt which Dior championed in his debut collection. The construction of the dress differs from other examples however, in that it is a complete sheath-style garment to which a horsehair crinoline and a wrapped overskirt have been added to give the distinctive feminine shape.

Artist

Christian Dior|House of Dior

Date

spring/summer 1956

Medium

silk, wool

Culture

French

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Mrs. Hans H. Zinsser, 1964