By BarbaraAnne

With France in ruins after the Second World War, Christian Dior felt the fashion world was ready for a new, luxurious style with sumptuous silhouettes and billowing skirts. On Feb. 12, 1947, he held an haute couture show with clothes featuring soft shoulders, waspy waists and full flowing skirts.

They were intended for what he called “flower women,” those who longed to leave their factory jobs and return home, leaving brutality and hardship behind. When the audience saw designs like this 1947 suit, they felt they had died and gone to heaven.

In 1949, Dior created “Junon,” French for the Queen Roman Goddess Juno (Greek equivalent Hera). Its grey skirt was a waterfall of ombréed (shaded) petals, each bordered with delicate dark-blue embroidery. The petals looked like peacock feathers without eyes — oblique references to the bird associated with Juno. With this landmark work, Dior manipulated the symbolism of ancient mythology to 20th-Century tastes. Junon’s timeless beauty shook the fashion world.

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