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.

"So Christian Dior me...." - Eva Perón vestida de gala

 

After her return to Argentina following her 1947 European "Rainbow Tour", Eva Perón gave her "look" something of a makeover. Gone were the glistening, tortured pompadours, the massive chignons, replaced by a sleek golden helmet, softened only by a discretely braided knot at the back. Her Paris clothes and jewels were still lavish, but noticeably more tasteful. She was an avid customer of Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, Christian Dior and Jacques Fath. The designers reportedly kept mannequins in their workshops made to her specific measurements; Dior is quoted as once telling an interviewer, “The only queen I ever dressed was Eva Perón.” 

Thanks to its adaptation for use in the costuming of the musical "Evita", this particular Dior-gowned toilette has become iconic.
(The title of this post is a fragment of a song lyric from that show, of course.)

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For the outrageously glamorous and idealized - painted - images of Evita in all her haute couture, haute joaillerie glory,  please see this previous post.