Alexandra Palmer is Senior Curator, Textiles and Costume, at the Royal Ontario Museum, where she has curated numerous exhibitions including Elite Elegance: Couture

Fashion in the 1950s. Her books include Couture and Commerce: the Transatlantic Fashion Trade in the 1950s, Old Clothes, New Looks: Second Hand Fashion, and Fashion: A Canadian Perspective, as well as contributions to RRRIPP!! Paper Fashion.

“Never in the history of fashion had a single designer made such a revolution in his first showing.” Time

In 1947 Christian Dior rocked the fashion world with his New Look, which dominated postwar fashion and firmly secured the name of his house in the minds of the public and the industry. Based on new research, this absorbing and beautifully illustrated book examines the seminal years of Christian Dior, 1947 to until his death in 1957, from a truly international perspective.

Dior drew on historical models of femininity and utilized the unique skills of the Parisian haute couture in textiles, embroidery, cutting, and sewing techniques to produce stunning designs that captured the new mood of optimism after World War II. Dior also designed and marketed ready-made luxe lines and broke new ground by creating and controlling innovative licensing agreements for all Dior products, from perfume to stockings, jewelry, bathing suits, and even men’s ties.