“Corolle” was the name of one of the principal lines in Christian Dior’s 1947 collection, inspired by a flower’s corolla.
A corolla is the collective term for the petals of a flower. Dior used the word to describe a silhouette in which the bodice narrowed at the waist before expanding into a full, rounded skirt. The floral metaphor matched his preference for feminine, sculptural forms.
The 1947 presentation also included the “En 8” line, named for the figure-eight shape created by its fitted waist and rounded hips. These line names were part of Dior’s method of organizing and explaining the shapes in his debut collection.
The term “Corolle” is sometimes confused with “New Look,” but they are not identical. “Corolle” was a collection line; “New Look” became the wider public description of Dior’s postwar silhouette.