{"id":20456,"date":"2021-04-23T16:15:10","date_gmt":"2021-04-23T06:15:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/?post_type=articles&p=191933"},"modified":"2021-04-23T13:16:28","modified_gmt":"2021-04-23T13:16:28","slug":"dior","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/dior\/","title":{"rendered":"Setting The Bar. The Forever Allure Of A Dior Classic"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Bar Jacket \u00a9 Dior<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s interesting to note that anything we refer to as \u201cclassic\u201d today was, in fact, once not so. Upon invention, any classic would have been modern splendor, perhaps even renegade by design. Then, over time, as these stalwarts of style remain ingrained in our psyches, they evolve to a level of foreverness. They became classic, iconic – terms earned and bestowed.<\/p>\n

Following the end of World War II, with society solemn and depleted, Christian Dior was determined to shift the moment to one of fashion exultation. He founded his fashion house a year after V-E Day and subsequently presented his \u2018New Look\u2019 collection. However innocuous this name may now sound, what Monsieur Dior offered was a revolutionary cut, a shape that defined – and accentuated – the female form. It was luxurious, sensual, and “new” in the least banal way. The collection perpetuated the hourglass archetype, a far cry from the sullen shapelessness of the military-inspired era. And with the world ready to burgeon into a new era, it\u2019s little wonder this sartorial newness became a uniform for its awakening.<\/p>\n

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The Bar Suit. Haute Couture Spring Summer, 1947 by Christian Dior. \u00a9 Photo Pat English<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Most notable from the collection was the Bar Jacket. A revolutionary blouson that nipped at the waist, tapered at the d\u00e9colletage, tailored across the shoulders and accentuated volume to the hips. Its release drew immediate, widespread adoration and influenced well-dressed women and designer comrades around the world (even if his competitive foe Coco Chanel regarded his designs as \u201cridiculous\u201d).<\/p>\n

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Since then, the Bar Jacket (named as Monsieur Dior imagined it to be worn in the after-hours to bars and society soirees) has remained a covetable symbol of fashion sophistication. Dior\u2019s numerous creative directors have paid homage to this superb archive with iterations of the Bar presented over the years, from John Galliano to Marc Bohan to Raf Simons and to current creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri.\u00a0 <\/span>For Fall \u201921 Grazia Chiuri<\/a> played particular attention to the Bar once again, this time sporting it from leopard print – a nod to the House\u2019s forever muse Mizza Bricard.<\/p>\n

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The Bar Jacket \u00a9 Dior<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Perhaps there\u2019s a certain irony in that Monsieur\u2019s \u2018New Look\u2019 jacket was first inspired by the Belle \u00c9poque era that predated World War I. A time of bustiers and bustles, feather fascinators, French lace, and pantaloons. When women were poised and posed, cinched by harness-style corsetry. By the time his creation was launched, this look was relegated to pass\u00e9. So, by appropriating a bygone apparel, his New Look was, in fact, a throwback.<\/p>\n

How apt for our times. With our current taste rife with looking back to move forward, we\u2019re forever craving nostalgia through the kaleidoscope of modernity. There\u2019s little doubt the timeline of the Bar jacket will continue, with each new take offering a reflection of the times in which it exists. Today, as we begin to emerge from Pandemia, we\u2019re gravitating toward our own New Look to a reimagined classic that remains as resplendent as ever.<\/p>\n

Go behind the scenes with Dior\u2019s Savoir-Faire – a look at the making of this esteemed piece of historical couture. See the meticulous attention to detail from the House\u2019s ateliers, a window into what would have been Monsieur\u2019s vision some 75 years ago.<\/em><\/p>\n