Hong Kong Heritage Museum

The Golden Age of Couture: Paris and London 1947–1957

Thematic Galleries (3), (4) & (5)
Hong Kong Heritage Museum

30 May 2009 - 28 September 2009

A Salute to Masters Programme Series

This exhibition focuses on post-war couture during a decade (1947–1957) that Christian Dior described as the "Golden Age" of fashion. Drawn mainly from the Victoria and Albert Museum's collections of French and British fashion and photography, it explores the creative, social and commercial aspects of this highly traditional and luxurious craft industry and analyses its legacy.

Starting in Paris under the German occupation and the impact of the "New Look" that emerged in 1947, the exhibition examines the world and history of couture: its designers, fashion houses, models and clients and its introduction into popular fashion. Highlighting the works of the masters and legends of fashion such as Christian Dior, Cristbal Balenciaga, Pierre Balmain and Hubert de Givenchy in Paris and their London counterparts Norman Hartnell and Hardy Amies, it traces one of the most glamorous and remarkable decades in fashion history. More than 100 dresses will be on display, including daywear, cocktail and evening dresses made for the high society and royalty, alongside photographs by renowned fashion photographers Cecil Beaton and Richard Avedon and documentary film, textiles and archive material.

"The Golden Age of Couture: Paris and London 1947–1957" offers an insight into fashion at its most artful, imaginative and powerful and into a decade when designers set the highest standards of quality and innovation.

Special programmes in association with the exhibition "The Golden Age of Couture: Paris and London 1947-1957"

Foreword

Preface

The Golden Age of Couture: Paris and London 1947–1957

Post-War and the Theatre de la Mode

The New Look

The World of Couture

Photography and Illustration

The Collections

Tailoring

Cocktail and Early Evening

Evening and Ballgowns

The Legacy

Presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department
Organised by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London and the Hong Kong Heritage Museum
Supported by the Consulate General of France in Hong Kong and Macau
Sponsored by Christian Dior
This is a programme of Le French May

For more details of the V&A, please visit: www.vam.ac.uk

Exhibit Highlights

	Suit Hardy Amies Worsted wool 1947 Given by Mrs Benita Armstrong ©V&A Images / Victoria and Albert Museum V&A: T.38&A-1966

Evening shoes for Dior Roger Vivier Satin embroidered with beads and silk and metal thread Late 1950s Given by Roger Vivier ©V&A Images / Victoria and Albert Museum V&A: T.38&A-1966

	Evening dress Pierre Balmain Silk organza with ostrich feathers, sequins and rhinestones, lined with silk, silk tulle and a stiff nylon petticoat About 1950 Worn by the Hon. Mrs Pleydell-Bouverie and given by Miss Karslake ©V&A Images / Victoria and Albert Museum V&A: T.176-1969

'Cygne Noir' (Black Swan) evening dress Christian Dior Silk velvet and faille 1949 Given by Baroness Antoinette de Ginsbourg ©V&A Images / Victoria and Albert Museum V&A: T.117&A-1974

	' Zémire ' evening dress Christian Dior Synthetic satin 1954 ©V&A Images / Victoria and Albert Museum V&A: T.24-2007

Miss Lachasse Lachasse (established 1928) London 1954 The Fashion Museum, Bath and North East Somerset Council Given by Peter Lewis Crown ©V&A Images / Victoria and Albert Museum

	Dress and petticoat Pierre Balmain Dress: silk grosgrain with machine-made Swiss embroidery Petticoat: boned silk net and silk About 1950 Given by Mrs. G. Sachet ©V&A Images / Victoria and Albert Museum V&A: T.349&A-1975

Evening dress Cristóbal Balenciaga Silk taffeta About 1955 Given by Miss Caroline Coombe ©V&A Images / Victoria and Albert Museum V&A: T.427-1967

	'Les Muguets' (Lily of the Valley) evening dress Hubert de Givenchy Silk organdie embroidered with sequins 1955 Given by Viscountess de Bonchamps ©V&A Images / Victoria and Albert Museum V&A: T.223-1974

Other Past Exhibitions