Christian Dior probably did more than anyone in the history of fashion to make an hourglass figure a symbol of the perfect woman. The tiny waists and exaggerated curves of his 1947 New Look collection were not just a fashion sensation but a cultural one. Dior cut a visual template for femininity that ruled unchallenged for the second half of the 20th century.
So Marlene Dietrich, the pioneer of androgyny who seduced Hollywood in a suit, tie and top hat, was an unexpected muse for Dior’s latest catwalk collection, staged at the Brooklyn Museum in New York on Monday evening.
