je amour dior

i have always admired and loved christian dior. he, and his brand, have been a huge inspiration to me, especially recently. part of this fascination probably comes from the fact that i love the fifties and the amazing silhouettes that came out of the era, specifically the new look.

in the united states, dior isn't as recognized and praised as it is in europe. in europe dior is the creme of the crop. it's the most prestigious brand and if you own dior, it's your prized posession. in the united states we chase brands like burberry and gucci, and i'm speaking from a moderately wealthy consumer view point.

i was recently looking through a book that dior uses for training and educating their new employees. the book is amazing and took my breath away. it has a history and picture after picture of couture gowns done both by dior himself and his predecessors. all of the beading and special pleating or embroidery, along with many other parts of the dresses, are hand done. the designs are breathtaking and i honestly can't find another way to describe them. this is my porn.

another thing i admire about dior are his quick sketches. they sometimes only consist of two lines but you can see exactly the dress he's envisioning. his finished sketches are beautiful as well, but i just love that with so few lines he can create a vision. i was in heaven when i visited FIDM for the first time and the halls of one floor were lined with his hand sketches. i took an illegal picture of my favorite one, the yellowed picture below.

after looking through the book i was so inspired, as i always am after looking at dior designs. je t'aime, dior.