Les deux déesses - two masterworks by Christian Dior, 1949

 

The Dior gowns for fall/winter 1949-50, Junon and Vénus, photographed at the Pré Catalan in Paris for Harper's Bazaar by Richard Avedon, August, 1949.

Junon, named after the Roman queen of the gods, Juno - the Greek Hera - the blue sequined embellishment a reference to Juno's sacred animal, the peacock.

Vénus, named after the Roman goddess of love - the Greek Aphrodite - the wavy, pearlescent spangles a reference to Venus' "nautical" birth. 

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Two more of Avedon's images, photographed at the Pré Catalan in the summer of 1949.

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As one might expect, the care and preservation of these iconic garments is quite challenging. Dust and dirt need to be carefully vacuumed from yards and yards of fragile, unwashable silk net, which is covered in thousands of sequins, paillettes, and beading that can only be cleaned by hand, individually, one at a time. And then loss of the embellishments is a great concern, as the aging thread that attaches sequins and the like eventually fails, and each fallen bit needs to be accounted for and reattached. All of this while putting the least amount of stress on extremely delicate fabric that is more than seventy-five years old.