Fashion & Leather Goods, Dior in the spotlight by Agathe de Drouas

On Thursday 11 December 2025, Aguttes will present its very first auction dedicated to this world, under the direction of Agathe de Drouas, head of the new ‘Fashion & Leather Goods’ department. The event will feature a remarkable collection of seven Dior dresses, six of which were created during Monsieur Dior's lifetime. With this inaugural auction, Aguttes now has 18 specialised departments.

The 20th century was an unprecedented era in the history of fashion: the incredible creative proliferation of fashion houses — Dior, Chanel, Schiaparelli, Balenciaga and Givenchy — and luxury brands such as Hermès and Vuitton elevated fashion to the status of world heritage. Following in their footsteps, fashion designers have cemented this position, which couture still holds today. Being involved in passing on these unique pieces, such as this rare Dior ensemble, is as important to me as witnessing the emotion they inspire."

Agathe de Drouas, Fashion & Leather Goods Specialist

A remarkable collection of seven Dior dresses, six of which date back to the era of Monsieur Dior

Christian Dior's iconic creation, the ‘New Look’, as it was christened by Carmel Snow, editor-in-chief of Harper's Bazaar, secured the couturier's place in fashion history. This aesthetic contributed to Christian Dior's fame from his very first fashion show in 1947, and was based on an ultra-feminine silhouette with rounded shoulders and a defined, very slim waist.

This ideal, which was already in the air at the time, profoundly changed the world of fashion. Christian Dior affirmed post-war trends such as femininity and the profusion of fabrics, thus breaking with a certain austerity. The designer, who sculpted silhouettes and played with volumes, thus revived the golden age of French haute couture. At the end of the war, his creations also caused a stir due to the abundance of fabric. For some designs, Christian Dior used up to 200 metres of fabric: an indecency in the eyes of some of his contemporaries.

Through his dresses, Christian Dior redefined elegance after the Second World War and revolutionised fashion. From his very first show, he placed his fashion house at the forefront of French haute couture. Dior quickly became a key player in the industry.

Dior imposed the restoration of triumphant femininity with a light silhouette, recognisable by its corolla skirts and cinched waists. Both a visionary designer and a shrewd businessman concerned with the success of his fashion house, Monsieur Dior designed dresses that created a silhouette with a cinched waist, high, rounded bust, narrow shoulders and legs exposed up to 30 cm above the floor. He thus broke away from the linear evolution initiated by Paul Poiret and continued by Mademoiselle Chanel.

A gallery owner and then an illustrator, Christian Dior began his career as a fashion designer at Robert Piguet in 1938 and opened his own fashion house in 1946. Passionate about gardens and architecture, he was also interested in music, drawing and painting, and was attracted to everything related to the art of living. This is reflected in his 22 collections! The dresses created in the 1950s immerse us in a decisive period in the history of the House of Dior. Of the seven dresses from the same private collection, six date from the time of Monsieur Dior.

The labels affixed to each of the dresses offered for sale provide valuable information about the collections from which they originate. All Haute Couture designs, they were presented between the spring-summer 1953 collection and the spring-summer 1958 collection. Two long evening dresses from the 1953 collection will be offered for sale, with one estimated at £1,000/£2,000 and the other at £2,000/£3,000. While silhouettes softened from 1950 onwards, the waistline was liberated in 1954 with the H-line. A grey brocade evening gown, estimated at £2,000-3,000, is a perfect example of this. A black tulle dress (Autumn-Winter 1955 collection), estimated at €1,500/€2,000, illustrates the loose-fitting shapes of cocktail dresses, in contrast to the restrictive dresses for daytime wear and the long, majestic dresses for evening wear.

Names of six collections, each more evocative than the last

All of these pieces, from the collections listed below, will be auctioned at Aguttes on 11 December 2025. The couturier named each of his collections himself.

*Spring-Summer 1953: Ligne Tulipe

*Autumn-Winter 1953-1954: Ligne Vivante

*Spring-Summer 1954: Ligne Muguet 

*Autumn-Winter 1954-1955: Ligne H

*Autumn-Winter 1955: Ligne Y

*Spring-Summer 1958: Ligne Trapèze

Yves Mathieu-Saint-Laurent, another prodigy, for the House of Dior

The powder pink organza dress, the seventh piece in this ensemble, is a precious testament to the first collection by Yves Mathieu-Saint-Laurent, who was suddenly propelled to the head of the House of Dior after the couturier's death on 24 October 1957.

At the age of 21, this other prodigy became the youngest couturier in the world and, like his predecessor, remains one of the iconic names in 20th-century fashion.

He masterfully played with the sartorial codes of the founder of the House of Dior and delivered designs that clearly resembled those of his predecessor. This short dress features a fitted strapless bodice and a very wide skirt reminiscent of a balloon dress. As this dress demonstrates, pink is one of Christian Dior's signature colours, and his successors have adopted it for their haute couture designs and accessories.

The invitation to the show announced: "This season's fashion plays with balance and structure. A hat placed squarely on the head. A silhouette based on a trapezoid, in balance. The two most important trends of the season are based on: a) shoulders at the top of the trapeze, b) the amplitude of the dress forming the base of the trapeze. For the evening, there are “puffy dresses” reminiscent of ballerinas and the Opera."

This collection was presented in January 1958, less than four months after Christian Dior's death on 24 October 1957, and featured a conical silhouette with high-waisted, ballooned, flounced or puffed skirts.

Upcoming sale

Thursday 11 December 2025

Aguttes Neuilly