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Susan Muncey

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J'adore dress and mystic mask by Maria Grazia Chiuri for Christian Dior 2018 at V and A.jpg

Marvel, Magic and Mastery: Christian Dior at the V&A

February 12, 2019

There is a sense of timeless elegance - even Galliano’s boldly coloured kneepads and Chiuri’s sci-fi-style ‘mystic masks’ sit happily alongside Bohan’s delicate costume jewellery and the more classic millinery of early collections.

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In reviews Tags fashion, couture, exhibitions, legacy
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Phantom Thread.jpg

Phantom Thread unpicked

February 12, 2019

In this era of slow fashion, couture clothing was quotidian for the upper and upper middle classes. The world at large does not intrude upon this perfectly ordered microcosm of fashion, style and predetermined taste.

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In reviews Tags fashion, film, couture, dressmaking, material culture

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Barbie’s colourful cinematic world and powerfully pink wardrobe rekindle memories of my playdates with the original 1968 talking version of the doll.

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People who transgress fashion norms are often viewed with suspicion, distrust, or even disgust. Yet going against the grain can also empower, by getting us and our causes noticed…

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Formal rituals of bereavement became a yardstick of behaviour. The study of mourning dress provides an insight into the social position of women, in particular. Women bore the heaviest burden of the mourning ritual, becoming social outcasts for their first year of widowhood.

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By way of dreamlike inspiration, intoxicating colour combinations and towering displays of spectacular gowns appear on this journey through the realms of a legendary creative force.

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The collision of girly innocence with the overt sexuality of a newly liberated age that radiated through Quant’s products and their promotion was simultaneously borne out in my generation’s experience of growing up.

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Marvel, Magic and Mastery: Christian Dior at the V&A
reviews
Marvel, Magic and Mastery: Christian Dior at the V&A
reviews

There is a sense of timeless elegance - even Galliano’s boldly coloured kneepads and Chiuri’s sci-fi-style ‘mystic masks’ sit happily alongside Bohan’s delicate costume jewellery and the more classic millinery of early collections.

Read more →
reviews