Discover Bella, Dolores and Arthénice, three Dior evening dresses made by Montreal fashion designer Helmer Joseph in keeping with the haute couture tradition, using original House of Dior patterns. This project in conjunction with the exhibition Christian Dior is the perfect opportunity not only to bring to the forefront a highly specialized skill set, but also to show the ingenuity that shaped the golden age of haute couture!
The mannequins and parade were supervised in Australia by Madame Suzanne Luling, Dior's sales and staff manager.The 1957 parade featured the luxurious and glamorous evening dresses for which Dior was famous, along with a new day dress, the chemise, a loose-fitting, unwaisted garment that was the exact opposite of his fitted New Look collection.
This project was made possible thanks to the generous support of Pascale Bourbeau, Bita Cattelan and Patricia Saputo.
Subscribe to the Refinery29 channel: is a magic word. It conjures thoughts of impeccable craftsmanship, visionary des. They did, and do—men have recently gotten in on the game—though not all carry the Chanel label. In the 1950s, Christian Dior defined the look of the LBD: full-skirted and wasp-waisted. DIOR official website. Discover Christian Dior fashion, fragrances and accessories for Women and Men. DIOR official website. Discover Christian Dior fashion, fragrances and accessories for Women and Men.
Follow Helmer Joseph behind the scenes for an insider’s view of making haute couture, and learn more about the creation process from the toile to the finish garment.
| If you missed the beginning of this original project, you can learn more at: An Insider’s View of Haute Couture |
A Word From the Donors
I am honoured to be involved in this unique project and to present a dress that will inspire many, House of Dior’s Bella dress.
“I have designed flower women,” said Christian Dior. Indeed, he longed to imitate the delicate curves of blooming petals in the design of his dresses.
The iconic style of the famous French couturier is here recreated by the skilled Québec couturier Helmer Joseph marrying the talents, the expertise, and the know-how of two eras.
— Pascale Bourbeau
To quote Christian Dior:
“Even in extravagance, fashion must make sense.”
And I would add:
“Balance your extravagance with a gesture that makes sense.”
It has been a privilege to participate in the Dior Project,
supporting the custodian of Montreal’s social and cultural history, the McCord Museum.
— Bita Cattelan
If DIOR stands for:
D — Do what you love!
I — Invest with heart!
O — Own based on passion!
R — Reward yourself and others!
Then I would say:
With heart and passion,
And for the love of fashion,
I rewarded myself, no less,
Then with a DIOR dress!
The McCord Museum’s social history mandate
Needs funds to help continue its fate,
The dual reward of self and Montreal,
Helps benefit one and all!
Dior Dress Sketches
— Patricia Saputo
This project is carried out in conjunction with the exhibition, Christian Dior, produced by the Royal Ontario Museum, and presented by Holt Renfrew Ogilvy.
With the generous collaboration of
École supérieure de mode | ESG UQAM
Sergio Veranes Studio
Textiles Couture Elle
Photographer: Sergio Veranes
After studying at Brown University and taking photography courses at Rhode Island School of Design, Sergio Veranes starts his photographic career in 1996 working with several major fashion magazines, and shooting advertising campaigns in France and Italy.
Now a Montrealer, Sergio Veranes gears his work towards the production of authentic, incisive portraits and explores the expression of bodies in movement, working with dancers and athletes. He masters light and contrast with a dedicated sculpting touch, producing images of dramatic depth and beauty.
Between 2017 and 2019, he becomes actively involved in the creation of two projects: “Souls of Montreal”—an incisive study of Montrealers through a large compilation of portraits celebrating human diversity, and “Anima”—an artistic work on the body in movement featuring dancers and circus artists. These projects will see the light of day in 2020-2021.
Sergio Veranes Studio: sergioveranesstudio.com | Facebook | Instagram
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Christian Dior originally wanted to become an architect, but was instead directed by his parents to pursue a diplomatic career. Even when he finally became a fashion designer, he did not leave those architectural desires and instincts behind. He used solid, rigid construction to achieve his delicate-looking “femme-fleur” look, sometimes requiring up to 15 yards of fabric for the skirts.
Christian Dior appeared on the scene after World War II, at a time when women were craving luxury and the excess of fabric, trim, and dyes were again possible because wartime rationing had ended. He believed that he “…designed clothes for flower-like women, clothes with rounded shoulders, full feminine busts, and willowy waists above enormous spreading skirts…” as a contrast to the drab colors and masculine-styled angular clothing that had been worn by women in the past few years during the war. Some thought his new silhouette that emphasized the curves of the women who wore it was also in sympathy with the new need to increase the nation’s birthrate after the war.
Dior never learned to sew or even cut a dress; therefore, the sketches he presented to his team were not always reproducible. He would sometimes assign the same sketch to several teams and then select the muslin that most resembled what he had pictured in his mind.
The House of Dior was in business from 1946 to 1957, before his sudden death of a heart attack. However, his house was able to produce 70 collections in those ten years. Please note that a draft collection for Dior could originally consist of 175 outfits, which over time would be edited down to what would finally appear on a runway.
Hollywood connection: He designed the off-screen clothing for actresses Claudette Colbert, Marlene Dietrich, and Irene Dunne.
Home sewing connection: Licensed designs for the Paris Original series for the Vogue pattern company.
His style, innovations, and influence on fashion:
Fashion Designer Sketches
- The New Look; known in France as the Corolle (ring of petals) line, was a longer skirt with a smaller waistline silhouette presented in 1947.
Versace Dress Sketches
- The now iconic ensemble from the New Look collection, the “bar suit”, is one of the most referenced pieces in fashion.
- As part of his training, the young Dior freelanced for Elsa Schiaparelli and Cristobal Balenciaga.
- Dior used boned corsets, rounded, sloping shoulders, built-in petticoats, and hip pads to create the understructure and curved stand-away shape to his garments.
- Some of his collections; the H-line in 1954, A-line, and the Y-line in 1955 were named for the letters that resembled the silhouettes formed by the clothes. The term and shape for the A-line is still known and used to this day.
- The Lily of the Valley was Dior’s favorite flower, the dominant scent behind his fragrance Diorissimo, and the name of his 1954 spring collection, known as Muguet in French.
Images: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY.
Dior Dress Sketches Of People
Sources: Dressmakers of France (1956) Mary Brooks Pickens, Dora Loues Miller; Secrets of the Couturiers (1984) Frances Kennett; Fashion (2003) Christopher Breward;The World’s Most Influential Fashion Designers (2010) Noel Palomo-Lovinski.