Terms and Conditions
The artist, title and date of the work must be listed anywhere the image is reproduced:
House Of Youth, Sydney (fashion house)
Christian Dior, Paris (couture house)
Cocktail dress 1953
silk, metal (fastening)
110.0 cm (centre back) 33.5 cm (waist, flat)
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Gift of Gina Willison, 2020
Photo: National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Where possible, the image must be reproduced in full (no cropping or over-printing). If you wish to use a detail of the work, a full reproduction of the work must also be reproduced elsewhere in the publication.
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Cocktail dress
1953
Medium
silk, metal (fastening)
Measurements
110.0 cm (centre back) 33.5 cm (waist, flat)
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Gift of Gina Willison, 2020
Gallery location
Not on display
About this work
House of Youth was established by Samuel and Dora Stein as a draper, costumier and tailor catering to the general fashion market. The label produced affordable ‘Paris-styled’ wardrobes of day and evening wear, and from 1951 licensed versions of Dior’s New York line, luxury ready-to-wear collections. This dress replicates a ‘Christian Dior-New York’ design made under licence by the House of Youth. During the early 1950s, House of Youth catered to a cautious upper-middle class clientele who shopped for ready-made rather than custom-made clothing. The firm’s director, Philip Stein, promised customers the ‘prestige’ of Dior without any of its ‘extreme’ styles.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
Sydney, New South Wales
Inscription
label, centre back neckline, woven in black on white silk: Christian Dior / EXCLUSIVE ADAPTATION / FOR AUSTRALIA BY / House of Youth
Accession Number
2019.1124
Department
International Fashion and Textiles