Among the greatest strengths of the Fine Arts Museums’ fashion collection are its exemplary holdings of designs by the preeminent French couturier Christian Dior. From the debut of his first collection in 1947 until his untimely death a decade later, Dior produced garments that were antidotes to the austere fashions of World War II, with superb construction and tailoring, ample use of luxurious fabrics, and abundances of sumptuous decorative treatments. The designer’s “Junon” gown represents the pinnacle of his creativity, along with its sister design, “Venus.” Named in honor of the Roman goddess of marriage and fertility, “Junon” is formed from diaphanous layers of silk tulle, with glittering sequin embroidery on curved skirt flounces to evoke the feathers of the goddess’s favorite bird, the peacock. Both “Junon” and “Venus” were donated to the Museums in November 1949 by San Francisco–based luxury department store I. Magnin & Company. Founded in 1876, the store was among the first to import European couture and high-end fabrics to the city. The Dior gowns were not intended for sale, but rather for in-store presentations by I. Magnin, who sought to share their magnificence with women on the American West Coast. As the company noted in a press release (December 10, 1949) about the gift, “It is believed they will be a document for future generations, portraying the greatest talent and genius of the present era.” llc