Abraham Ltd. worked with many of the great couturiers. The list of its customers therefore reads like a who’s who in the world of international couture. It was Gustav Zumsteg who in the 1940s made the first tentative contacts with fashion designers, some of whom would become lifelong friends. The four names that are now inextricably linked to Abraham Ltd. are Cristobal Balenciaga, Hubert de Givenchy, Christian Dior and Yves Saint Laurent. Yet Pierre Balmain, Nina Ricci, and Pierre Cardin also played an important role.
When Christian Dior launched his own house after the Second World War, he created an instant success with the New Look, ending the austerity looks of the war and giving women around the world a new hourglass silhouette to wear and to copy. The luxurious and elegant Dior haute couture styles were a good match with the high quality silks of Abraham and the collaboration between the two men in the 1950s was very important for both companies. Many of Christian Dior’s most successful looks were created with floral prints from the Abraham collections. When Christian Dior died unexpectedly in 1957, his successor Yves Saint Laurent continued the collaboration with Abraham.
Flowers, and especially roses, reign supreme on Abraham’s fabrics. The variations on this theme know no bounds, ranging from naturalistic bouquets to abstract, larger-than-life rose blossoms. This assured Abraham its place among the world’s great textile companies. Flowers are by far the most common recurring motif at Abraham.