Soirée de Décembre evening dress thumbnail 1
Not on display

Soirée de Décembre evening dress

Evening Dress
1955 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Christian Dior founded his Parisian fashion house in 1946, with backing from the textile manufacturer Marcel Boussac. On 12 February 1947, the House of Dior launched its first collection. Dubbed the ‘New Look’ by the press, the collection had an instant and unparalleled influence on fashion around the world.

This silk evening dress is one of Christian Dior's Y line designs from autumn/winter 1955. The strapless 'princess' style gown is a sculptural masterpiece. Haute couture designers enjoyed making two dresses in one. Here the front skirt is short, reaching lower calf level. At the back the skirt is long and forms an impressive train that sweeps the floor. The designer has used stiffening bands inside the neck and hem to keep the shape of the dress. The dress fastens with a zip at the back.

The dress was ordered from the Dior Paris salon by prima ballerina Margot Fonteyn, a long-standing client of Dior.

Object details

Categories
Object type
Titles
  • Soirée de Décembre evening dress (assigned by artist)
  • Y line (named collection)
Materials and techniques
Silk faille, boned, and tulle net
Brief description
Soirée de Décembre evening dress, black silk faille, Christian Dior, haute couture autumn/winter 1955, 'Y' line, Paris, France
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.
Dimensions
  • Bust circumference: 84cm
  • Waist circumference: 625mm (Note: Bodice)
  • Hem circumference: 200cm
  • Length: 932mm (Note: skirt)
Approx. size 12
Production typeHaute couture
Marks and inscriptions
'Christian Dior Paris' (Label inside bodice)
Gallery label
  • Soirée de Décembre dress (‘December Evening’) Christian Dior (1905–57) Haute couture, Autumn/Winter 1955 Y line Silk (faille) Victoria and Albert Museum - T.118-1974 - Given by Dame Margot Fonteyn Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams (02/02/2019-14/07/2019)
  • [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)
Credit line
Given by Dame Margot Fonteyn
Object history
Prima Ballerina Dame Margot Fonteyn was a devoted client of Christian Dior’s throughout the 1950s. In 1955, she chose a grey silk Dior dress for her wedding to Roberto de Arias, the Panamanian ambassador to London.

Worn by the donor, with a matching fringed stole (not given to the V&A). Fonteyn is photographed wearing the dress backstage and onstage at a curtain call alongside Frank Tait at the Empire Theatre in Sydney, Australia on the 25th May 1957 (photographs in the Australia Photographic Agency Collection at the State Library, New South Wales call no. APA 03359 and 03361).

The original design was modelled by the Dior house mannequin Renée, and the Atelier was premiered by Hélène. 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
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.
Production
Atelier Hélène
Association
Summary
Christian Dior founded his Parisian fashion house in 1946, with backing from the textile manufacturer Marcel Boussac. On 12 February 1947, the House of Dior launched its first collection. Dubbed the ‘New Look’ by the press, the collection had an instant and unparalleled influence on fashion around the world.

This silk evening dress is one of Christian Dior's Y line designs from autumn/winter 1955. The strapless 'princess' style gown is a sculptural masterpiece. Haute couture designers enjoyed making two dresses in one. Here the front skirt is short, reaching lower calf level. At the back the skirt is long and forms an impressive train that sweeps the floor. The designer has used stiffening bands inside the neck and hem to keep the shape of the dress. The dress fastens with a zip at the back.

The dress was ordered from the Dior Paris salon by prima ballerina Margot Fonteyn, a long-standing client of Dior.
Bibliographic references
  • Mendes, Valerie. Black In Fashion. London: V&A Publications, 1999, p.67
  • Dior Archives, Paris
  • Oriole Cullen and Connie Karol Burks, Christian Dior , (V&A: London, 2019)
  • Fashion : An Anthology by Cecil Beaton. London : H.M.S.O., 1971 no. 377
Collection
Accession number
T.118-1974

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Record createdFebruary 24, 2003
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