Physical description
Evening dress of black silk faille. The dress has a strapless fitted bodice and a full bouffant skirt, which is longer at the back. It fastens with a back zip and there is an attached black faille tie at the waist. The inner bodice is boned and there are several petticoats of black net.
Place of Origin
Paris, France (made)
Date
1955-1956 (made)
Artist/maker
Dior, born 1905 - died 1957 (designer)
Materials and Techniques
Silk faille, boned, and tulle net
Marks and inscriptions
'Christian Dior Paris'
Object history note
Worn by the donor, with a matching fringed stole (not given to the V&A).
The original model at Dior was Renée, and the Atelier was Premiered by Helene.
The sketch on the charts at the Dior Archive, Paris, show the dress to have a very full bell-shaped skirt with the skirt supported to a flemenco shape.
Historical context note
Dame Margot Fonteyn, (born Surrey, 1919-1991), Prima Ballerina Assoluta of the Royal Ballet. Through the 1960s and 1970s, Fonteyn performed regularly with Soviet-born dancer Rudolf Nureyev during his tenure with the Royal Ballet.
Descriptive line
Evening dress 'Soiree de Decembre' from 'Y line' of silk faille with tulle petticoat, designed by Christian Dior, Paris, 1955-1956
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Mendes, Valerie. Black In Fashion. London: V&A Publications, 1999, p.67
Black was of enormous significance to Christian Dior. He described it as 'the most popular and the most convenient and the most elegant of all colours. And I say colour on purpose, because black may be sometimes just as striking as a colour' (Christian Dior's Little Dictionary of Fashion, 1954). Black was rarely absent from his collections, and he frequently used it to create the defining statement for his famous lines. The habit of naming collections was not new when Dior opened his house, but his titles were catchy and had huge popular appeal. Particularly successful was his ploy of using letters from the alphabet to describe silhouettes of the mid-1950s: H line (autumn-winter 1954-1955), A line (spring-summer 1955) and Y line (autumn-winter 1955-1956).
Belonging to the Y-line period, Dame Margot Fonteyn's strapless, 'princess' style evening gown is a sculptural masterpiece (an inverted Y) in crisp silk faille, shaped by a boned foundation attached to a multi-layered tulle petticoat. The prima ballerina's slenderness, poise and streamlined elegance were perfect for the gown's strong lines. A favourite with haute couture was the trick of composing two dresses in one - the front skirt was short (here, lower calf level) but dipped to an imposing floor sweeping train at the back. It offered the grandeur of a full-length evening dress but the mobility of a short style. In order to contain the dress within crisp borders, stiffening bands run within the neck and hem turnings. Remaining true to his belief that 'a simple black dress… triumphs by is very austerity' (Dior by Dior, 1957), Dior kept the gown's smooth lines uncluttered sae for the restrained durative note of streamers that tied a the back an d trailed over the softly pleated centre panel.
Dior Archives, Paris
Original chart with sketch and fabric sample:
Model - Renée, Atelier - Hélène
Exhibition History
Black in Fashion (Victoria and Albert Museum 01/01/1999-31/12/1999)
The Golden Age of Couture. Paris and London 1947 - 1957 (Victoria and Albert Museum 22/09/2007-06/01/2008)
Fashion: an anthology by Cecil Beaton (Victoria and Albert Museum 01/01/1972-31/12/1972)
Spectres: When Fashion Turns Back (Victoria and Albert Museum 01/01/2002-08/05/2005)
Malign Muses: When Fashion Turns Back (ModeMuseum 17/09/2004-30/01/2005)
Labels and date
[The Golden Age of Couture: Paris and London 1947-57]
'Soirée de Décembre' evening dress (robe du soir)
Christian Dior (1905-57)
Paris
1955-6 autumn/winter, Ligne Y
Hardy Amies wrote of Dior, 'He has a sure eye that respects the shape of a woman's body, given her by nature and a well-fitted corset. He has a firm hand, to carve the clear outline of his clothes. He has a sharp intelligence which restrains his details to the point of starkness.'
Silk faille
Worn and given by Dame Margot Fonteyn
V&A: T.118-1974 [22/09/2007-06/01/2008]
Associated names
Cecil Beaton
Production Note
Atelier Hélène
Materials
Tulle; Faille
Categories
Fashion; Evening wear; Women's clothes
Production Type
Haute couture
Collection code
T&F
