Who coined the term 'New Look' for Dior's 1947 collection?

Carmel Snow coined the term “New Look” for Dior’s 1947 collection.

Snow was the influential editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar. After seeing Christian Dior’s debut collection in Paris on February 12, 1947, she reportedly exclaimed, “It’s such a new look!” The phrase quickly became the collection’s enduring name in the fashion press.

Dior had originally called the two main design lines Corolle and Huit. Their rounded shoulders, tightly shaped waists, emphasized busts and hips, and generous skirts sharply contrasted with the practical, boxier clothing associated with wartime fabric shortages.

The phrase is sometimes mistakenly credited to Diana Vreeland, another major fashion editor who worked with Snow at Harper’s Bazaar. Vreeland helped shape fashion journalism, but Snow is the editor traditionally credited with naming Dior’s revolutionary postwar silhouette. The Bar suit became its most recognizable emblem.