Evening ensemble

Christian Dior|House of Dior

fall/winter 1953 · silk · Costume Institute

The full impact of this cocktail ensemble by Christian Dior cannot be appreciated until the dress is seen in profile, revealing the bustle effect at the back of the dress. Dior appreciated the fashions of past eras, often referencing the mid 19th-century in the scale of his skirts or shape of his portrait necklines. The example references the bustle silhouette of the 1880s, with the side draperies extending into wide ties that enhance the fullness at the center back. The textile of the stole matches a dress in the collection of the Costume Institute from the following year, a clue that Dior used the same textiles for more than one season.

Artist

Christian Dior|House of Dior

Date

fall/winter 1953

Medium

silk

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