TRACKING DOWNS CHRISTIAN DIOR IN AMERICAN POST-WWII FASHION UNTIL EARLY 1950s

Nurina Aulia Haris

doi:10.22146/rubikon.v4i1.47860

TRACKING DOWNS CHRISTIAN DIOR IN AMERICAN POST-WWII FASHION UNTIL EARLY 1950s

https://doi.org/10.22146/rubikon.v4i1.47860

Nurina Aulia Haris^(1*)

(1)
(*) Corresponding Author

Abstract

This article studied the accomplishment of Christian Dior during his business venture in American market by using his autobiography as the main source of the research and qualitative research used as the method of study. Graves’s thought on Consumer Behavior are used as the approach of study under the umbrella of Transnational American Studies.

The success of Dior in the American market is not solely because of his dresses but there are other factors that support the success of his business especially the post-World War II situation where people need something new that can make them remember the times before the war, in addition, the promotion and assessment of fashion experts through fashion and lifestyle magazines also affect people's assessment of Dior's dresses and make them affected to own his collections. Based on the theory described by Graves, people tendency to imitate others is capable to influence one's expenses and this can be seen from the phenomena occurring in American society toward Dior’s works.

Concisely, the result of this research shows that the success of Dior in American market happened because of 2 things. First is the nature of human being that loves beauty, neatness, and things which make them happy. Second is the timing of his debut which was post war era where people were researching the pride they lost during the war caused by the limitation applied by the government and the condition itself therefore when Dior came with his collections they saw it as if it was their way to get back their pride as by wearing Dior’s collection it can show their social status.

Keywords: Christian Dior, Fashion, Societies, World War II

Full Text:

PDF

References

Bailis, Stanley. "The Social Sciences in American Studies: An Integrative Conception." American Quarterly 26 (1974): 202-224. Document.

Craig, Tia. World War Two Fashion (glamourdazed.com/world-war-two-fashion/post-wwii-influence-in-the-1940s). 11 July 2011. Pictures. 25 April 2017.

Dior, Christian. Christian Dior and I . New York: E. P. Dutton & Company Inc., 1957.

Elliott, Emory. "Diversity in the United States and Abroad: What Does It Mean When American Studies Is Transnational?" American Quarterly, Vol. 59, No. 1 (2007): 1-22. Document.

Finamore, Michelle Tolini. Hollywood Before Glamour: Fashion in American Silent Film. New York: PALGRAVE MACMILLAN, 2013. Document.

Fishkin, Shelley Fisher. "Crossroads of Cultures: The Transnational Turn in American Studies—Presidential Address to the American Studies Association, November 2004." American Quarterly, Vol. 57, No. 1 (2005): 17-57. Document.

Graves, Philip. Consumer.ology: Mitos Riset Pasar, Kebenaran tentang Konsumen, dan Psikologi Belanja. (Translated Version). Jakarta: PT. Elex Media Komputindo. 2015. Document.

Kass, Alison. "The 20th Century of American Fashion: 1900 – 2000." 10 May 2011. http://library.wcsu.edu/dspace/bitstream/0/592/1/ALISON+KASS.AMERICAN+FASHION+THESIS.pdf. Document. 21 June 2015. .

Lotman, Jurij. The Structure of The Artistic Text. USA: Brown University Press, 1977. Document.

Mschoeny. Fashion American Style: 1900-1999 America’s 20th Century Rise to Dominate World Fashion. 26 October 2001. Document. 9 May 2017.

Olds, Lauren. "World War II and Fashion: The Birth of the New Look." Constructing the Past: Vol. 2 : Iss. 1 , Article 6 (2001): 47-64. Document.

Palmer, Alexandra. Dior's Scandalous New Look. Spring 2010. https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/magazine/spring10_feature.pdf. 25 September 2016.

Pochna, marie-France. Christian Dior: The Man who Made the World Look New. New York: Arcade Publishing, Inc., 1994. Document.

Rowe, John Carlos. A Concise Companion to American Studies. United States:Wiley-Blackwell. 2010. Document.

Rowe, John Carlos, ed. Post-Nationalism, Globalism, and the New American Studies. California: University of California Press, Ltd., 2000. Document.

Strassel, Annemarie Elizabeth. Redressing Women: Feminism in Fashion and the Creation of American Style, 1930-1960. Dissertation. Connecticut: ProQuest LLC, 2008. Document.

Sykes, Richard E. "American Studies and the Concept of Culture: A Theory and Method." American Quarterly, Vol. 15, No. 2, Part 2: Supplement, The Johns Hopkins University Press (Summer, 1963): 253-270. Document.

Tylor, Edward B. Primitive Culture: Researches into the Development of Mythology, Philosophy, Religion, Language, Art, and Custom. London: John Murray, 1873.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.22146/rubikon.v4i1.47860