Haute-Couture
A Film by Henri A. Lavorel
Shooting... Marcel Fradetal
Commentary... Isabelle Kloucowsky
Music... Georges Tzipine
Between the Eiffel Tower and the Champs-Élysées,
at the foot of the Chaillot hill,
Avenue Montaigne once so peaceful
is now traversed by cars of all origins
who drop off under its awnings
the world’s most elegant individuals.
They come to entrust the care of dressing themselves
to a man from whom they’ve found the most valuable advice.
The man whose name, for those
like the Duchess of Windsor,
evokes all the prestige of French haute couture:
Christian Dior.
When in spring 1947 Christian Dior launched the Corolle line,
since baptised the “New Look” by America,
there was talk of a lightning strike, of a coup d'état, of revolution.
Revolution? No,
simply a return to normality, to common sense,
the desire to see women transform,
to rediscover a silhouette that was truly feminine.
And that was how, thanks to Christian Dior, the skirt grows longer,
the waist slimmer, the bust defined.
It is here in this quiet retreat in Île-de-France
that Christian Dior designs the majority of the styles
that across the world bear testimony
to the longevity of French taste,
to the measure, to the elegance
which are the prerogative of French couture.
Is it in nature, on his walks along the water’s edge,
where Christian Dior finds the freshness of an ever renewed inspiration,
of an inimitable grace and diversity?
His meditation must have been fruitful,
because as soon as he returns, he gets straight to work.
Recalling that before being a designer
he worked on paintings and was the fashion illustrator at Figaro,
it is armed with a pencil that Dior outlines
the key themes of his collection.
Themes that will serve as a basis for infinite variations.
This sketch borrows its sharp, subtle line from the scissors of the seamstress.
It is then passed on to the workshop
where the dimensions are transferred to a toile.
Then comes the delicate operation of cutting.
The panels of the main pattern are assembled.
They are placed onto a wooden mannequin
whose shapes have been entirely remodelled by Dior.
Then, the toile, now fully constructed,
is presented on a model, this time live, to the designer
whose keen eye quickly identifies changes to be made.
Here a pin restores balance.
Here with a bold hand,
Dior opens the bodice to highlight the neck.
He experiments...
hesitates...
tries one way...
then another.
“Yes, the basket neckline is more striking”.
And here the model is finally made
in black fabric reinforced with grosgrain.
It is christened “Dandy”,
but before going further it needs the essential hat,
another Dior creation, without which a dress is incomplete.
“It’s not bad.
A step back to take it all in.
It’s not bad at all”.
The designer seems satisfied
and looks over his work carefully,
starting from the petite head he lingers over the smallest details
and descends to the bottom of the tapered skirt.
But just as one swallow does not make a spring,
one dress does not make a collection.
He must think about creating at least 170 others.
It is from fabrics that Christian Dior sometimes draws inspiration.
A material, a shade seduces him
and in just a few minutes he’s begun improvising,
giving free rein to his imagination.
Under his agile fingers taffeta bends, gathers,
breaks, twists.
The sleeve soon takes shape.
Now to the essentials: the drape of the skirt,
since according to Dior the first thing a woman
should think about is her silhouette.
What was a moment ago an amorphous silk cloth
suddenly takes shape and already the bodice is distinctive.
In the 15 workshops comprising Dior,
700 seamstresses are actively involved in executing
the models created by the designer.
He knows even the minutest instructions will be respected.
Here, everyone works in an atmosphere of mutual
trust and admiration,
as while these workers marvel at the inventive genius of Christian Dior,
Dior himself has nothing but praise for the talent of
these nimble-fingered women.
It is therefore not for bossing his employees around
that Christian Dior always has a cane in hand.
This cane is purely a way for him to permanently
touch wood as he is superstitious.
Before the finalisation of the collection’s pieces,
Christian Dior reviews the details.
He knows better than anyone that using a light touch
on a nonchalant folded cuff ensures a chic look.
Here it is a curve that needs to be adjusted.
There, a jacket lacking suppleness.
“Next!”
Like recruits awaiting the draft board,
the models wait until summoned.
“No this belt doesn’t work, let’s try another one”.
“That definitely doesn’t work at all”.
“Of course, the belt should be worn on the skirt!”
It’s also the scarves that Christian Dior
takes care to drape himself.
His hands come, go, fight with the snakes of scarf
and he ties it, giving it an air of deceptive effortlessness.
But what research in this alleged carelessness.
Tirelessly Christian Dior examines,
criticises,
reconstructs a model,
then modifies his sketches.
But the time has come to withdraw his forces.
In the studio promoted to dining room,
Dior eats with his main collaborators.
The elegant Madame Bricard, who presides over the fashion department,
the charming Mademoiselle Lebidois, head of press relations,
the competent Madame Lavière, manufacturing director,
and the smiling Madame Luline, responsible for shows
and whose authority hangs over the battalion of saleswomen and models.
But already they must get back to work
and compare the sketches with their creation.
The schoolboy costume of Uncle Charles,
whose portrait hung in his childhood bedroom,
inspired Christian Dior for this look.
In memory of this poetic schoolboy immortalised by Alain Fournier,
he named it the Grand Meaulnes.
Everything is a source of discovery for a designer with a brilliant imagination.
Why would his reverie not transform a melon into a wide skirt,
that when spread evokes the sides of a succulent Charentais?
“It’s the market produce dress”.
Christian Dior has travelled a lot.
Perhaps, during his visit to Spain,
he was struck by the silhouette of Pyrenean shepherds?
Here is an interpretation made in a heavy, smooth satin.
The Pisanelle coat.
Again, a memory of Spain, but this time literary.
The famous windmills against which Don Quixote fought,
here turn their light sails.
But as illusory as those of the sorrowful knight,
these are only ingenious panels on the Moulin à Vent dress.
Finally, the invitations are sent!
A precious ticket fought over by coquettes,
anxious to know the colour and shape their beauty
will take this season.
The big day has arrived!
Behind the enchanting Venus dress, we enter into the inner sanctum.
The show begins.
The opening piece of the collection is named Christian Bérard
in honour of the artist gone before his time, who was a long-time friend
and who never stopped encouraging Dior to embark
on the path on which he would in the end be so successful.
Then, Shepherd Boy, a perfect outfit for the city.
Coordinated, cosy and comfortable.
Parlour games where we again find the influence of the melon.
Another coat for facing the winter months: Tour de France.
The Parisian’s outfit of choice, here Bois de Boulogne.
An outfit of understated elegance.
For the late-afternoon meetings, restaurant dinners,
Dior presents Cri de Paris where velvet pairs with satin.
Media noche,
made with a sumptuous brocade.
Portrait,
with such youthful charm.
The spectators, deceptively blasé,
examine every look with passionate interest.
A tribute to another great artist,
here is the Matisse dress
whose red is reminiscent of the vibrant hue of certain canvases by the Cimiez-based master.
Another red dress with large sleeves:
Bamboche, the colour of Beaujolais Nouveau.
The gentlemen do not remain indifferent in the face of such splendour.
This shimmering dress seems to emerge
from the precious deposits where it gets its name:
Altai.
And again, in memory of his first loves,
it is the name of a painter that Christian Dior gives this dress: Picasso.
The whimsical rose nestled at the bottom of the shoulder blade
is perfectly in the style of the famous Catalan.
These young Danish students,
here to learn the secret of Parisian elegance,
must believe they're in the palace from One Thousand and One Nights.
And for each one of these nights in Paris,
London, New York, here is the Bergamasque,
with a tulle underskirt that enhances its fullness.
Then an evening adaptation from the Ciseaux line,
supremely understated and refined.
It seems to immediately win the vote of this client.
The white of the ermine is highlighted
by a black robe in this Petit Ours ensemble.
Perfect for evening galas on the
Baltic coast, is it not, mesdemoiselles?
Lastly, succeeding each other like the rockets of a firework,
appears the Vie en Rose,
with skilful draping.
Bergamasque, eager to take part in the grand finale.
Junon gleaming with the fires of its multicoloured glitter.
Météore with changing shimmers.
And finally the icon of this collection: Ciseaux.
In this way, each season Christian Dior offers his clients
the sum of his dreams, of his research, of his labour,
and allows them to justify the poet’s verses:
“That those other than you are desired, That those other than you are adored,
This can easily be done.
But for there to be such beauties As you, wonder of wonders,
This is not possible”.
The End
This is a production by La Télévision Internationale Paris