When Christian Dior’s New Look collection launched in 1947, it revolutionised the silhouette of women’s fashion. Within a decade, the womenswear silhouette was transformed, with rounded shoulders, cinched waists and fuller skirts, than ever.
Emerging after years of practical military and civilian cuts, the return of ultra-feminine fabrics and richly textured gowns heralded a new chapter for the women of Paris, and indeed, the world. New Look was a marked return to luxe.
In The Refinement of a Lost Paradise filmmaker Dominque Adt interviews former Dior model Victoire Poutrelau, Marie-France Pochna (one of Dior’s biographers) and legendary fashion curator of the Louvre Museum, Pamela Golbin uncovering the design DNA of an extraordinary designer.
Christian Dior: The Refinement of a Lost Paradise screens with a selection of finalists from the Virgin Australian Melbourne Fashion Festival short film competition.
DURATION: 52 mins COUNTRY: France DATE: 2016 SUBTITLES: French and English
Screening at ACMI until 7 March, 2017. Click for tickets.
The Garb Wire 