Speak on insane crazes which influence greatly political and economical development of different countries
The wildest crazes have always been in fashion. Women and men always want to look extravagant and not to preserve themselves in demure pieces of clothes. I want to tell you about the craze of the 50s of the 20 the century – the craze on Dior’s clothes.
Wartime and after-war clothing had democratised fashion; war brought an enforced equality to rich and poor alike and no one could be in the fashion vanguard. Fashion had come to a kind of stop, frozen by the demands of sensible dress, such as the snood, which kept long hair out of the machines operated by women in the munitions factories. It was the opposite of consumerism - a time of make-do-and-mend, a time of dyeing your legs brown and painting a seam down the backs of the calves to simulate stockings.
Under occupation, Paris had not had to endure quite the same austerity as wartime Britain. The earliest postwar visitors to Paris remarked that skirts were fuller and longer than those in Britain and America, though the materials were poorer, rayon rather than silk, and the full skirts were designed to conceal the lack of finish - the tailoring for which French fashion was renowned. Dior was not the first designer to show the ballerina length; his genius was to redefine the entire silhouette and to insist on standards of beading and embroidery that had not been seen for almost a decade.
And in the middle of the bitter cold, the long drawn-out return to normality, the sudden reappearance of femininity, of waste, luxury, extravagance, marked the beginning of what a new exhibition at the V&A calls the Golden Age of Couture, which lasted from Dior's first collection until his death 10 years later, in 1957. Like all fashion, it was a radical revolt against what had gone before. Couture - handmade, individually fitted clothes for only the very wealthy - would play a significant social and economic role in the revival of France's postwar fortunes, and spawn a new development in fashion: copies produced on an industrial scale to feed the desire of millions of poorer women who demanded the New Look.
In 1947, Christian Dior created the dramatic "New Look", which dominated fashion throughout the 1940s and 1950s. The "New Look" revolutionized women's dress and re-established Paris as the centre of the fashion world after World War II.
The signature shape – characterized by a below-mid-calf length, full-skirt, large bust, and small waist – was hugely popular. The hem of the skirt was very flattering on the calves and ankles, creating a beautiful silhouette. Christian Dior, a true master at creating shapes and silhouettes, is quoted saying "I have designed flower women".
The "New Look", which re-emphasized large busts, was both womanly and sophisticated.
Fine dressmaking made a comeback during this period, among women who could afford it, since the construction of the desired shapes required skilled hands.
This custom work, which was less cost-effective and less available, quickly disappeared though, as cheap manufacturing and one-size-fits-all patterns became popular in the late 1950's. Suddenly the New Look has become the mass craze among the population of all continents. Women wanted some changes in their appearance and Dior’s style was perfect for them. But not everybody could afford Dior’s clothes, That’s why there appeared some handmade imitations. Women were pulling out the curtains and used this fabrics for their new style. Women could purchase patterns for dresses and make the dresses themselves if they couldn't afford the store-bought versions. The sheath dress, also called pencil style, featured fitted, straight lines and fabrics that were usually cotton or satin cotton. Darting or "princess seams" were also common features.
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