In June 1959, Dior sent 12 models to the Soviet Union to showcase their latest collection, designed by the newly-appointed Yves Saint Laurent. Nikita Krushchev had just lifted the ban on fashion shows and fashionable clothing as part of his new liberal vision for the USSR, prompting Suzanne Lulling, then head of Dior Salon, to organize a show in Moscow.
120 looks were displayed over the course of 5 nights, in the House of Culture’s “Wing of the Soviets.” The 11,000 tickets to the hall, which had been decorated in the French tri-color, were reserved for Soviet designers, and high Party members.
However the show continued out on the streets, where three models interacted with locals and paraded the clothes through Red Square, local markets, and the GUM department store. Soviet newspapers were quick to dismiss the extravagant designs, reporting that the slender styles were unsuitable for the shorter, stout Soviet women.
While the show failed to ignite a revolution within the Soviet fashion industry, it was a defining moment of Krushchev’s Thaw.
Howard Sochurek of Life Magazine documented the historic event.
