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About Christian Dior and the
House of Dior
Christian Dior was born and
raised in
Normandy in
the north of France. At the age of ten, he moved with his
parents to Paris.
Like Miuccia Prada, Dior studied
political science at
university, but unlike Prada he then had to serve in the military. Once
this was finished, Dior returned to Paris and started to sell sketches,
which was the beginning of his design career.
Eventually he was spotted
by the designer Robert Piquet, who hired him in 1938. World
War II broke out just as he was
starting his career with Piquet, and Dior
found himself back in the military in the South of France.
It was back to Paris in 1941 to work at a much larger design house for
Lucien Lelong. As his reputation grew, he acquired financial backing
from textile
manufacturer Marcel Boussac and opened his own
fashion house in 1946, at
30 Avenue Montaigne, near the
Champs-Elysées.
Between founding the House
of Christian Dior in 1946
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Christian
Dior 1905-1957 |
and
his death in 1957, Christian Dior gave the fashion world
the New Look,
his first designer collection. Featuring
rounded shoulders, a cinched waist
and a very full skirt, the New Look captured the essence of Parisian
Woman. The end of World War II, its civilian and military uniforms,
fabric shortages, and general lack of focus on fashion made Dior's
stylings very welcome indeed.
Dior helped to
restore postwar Paris from its beleaguered state to the world capital
of fashion. Throughout this period his collections had a theme. The
spring of '47 theme, Figure
8, suggested a
flattering female silhouette. 1953 featured Tulip, with some
floaty and flowery prints, and the 1955 A-line with an
undefined waist and smoother
silhouette that widened once over the hips and the legs. Dior was also
started designing mensewar, offering a Christian Dior wardrobe for both
men and women.
Christian Dior
didn’t just offer a new look, it actually offered a new
outlook.
Christian Dior, partnered with Jaques Rouet, was the first
fashion
designer to develop the concept of licensing, at the time an innovative
and visionary financial concept applied to stockings,
perfumes and fur, generating revenue and fame, and which has expanded
to become the life's blood of many
fashion houses today.
In 1953 Dior brought on the now-famous Yves Saint Laurent, as his
assistant. After Dior’s sudden death in 1957, Saint Laurent
took over
as the chief designer. Marc Bohan followed him in 1960 until
Gianfranco Ferré was installed in
1989.
The CD
set within a Louis XVI style medallion is more
than a
trademark, it is a legend. The House of Dior was pruchased in 1987, and
today it belongs to the world's leading manufacturer of luxury goods,
the Louis-Vuitton-Moët-Hennessy Group.
The modern House of Christian Dior has replaced the new look
with a new elegance that has been designed by
Englishman John Galliano
since 1996.
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A timeline of
Christian Dior
1905 Christian
Dior is born in Normandy,
France.
1935 Christian Dior moves to
Paris and
begins
selling his sketches.
1938 Robert Piguet hires
Christian Dior.
1946 Christian Dior founds
his own house
with
backing from textile manufactures Marcel Boussac.
1947 Christian Dior shows
his first
collection and
the “New Look” is born.
1953 Christian Dior Hires
Yves Saint
Laurent as his
assistant.
1954 Christian Dior shows
the H-line.
1955 Christian Dior shows
the A and
Y-lines.
1957 Christian Dior dies
suddenly in
Italy. Yves
Saint Laurent takes over as chief designer.
1960 Marc Bohan takes over
as chief
designer.
1989 Gianfranco
Ferré becomes
the chief
designer.
1996 John
Galliano takes over as chief designer. |

John
Galliano |
Designer extraordinaire, and former head of Dior,
Italian
Gianfranco Ferré, said "Dior is the Watteau of
couturiers, full of nuances, delicate and chic. Being Italian in a
house of French tradition is to participate ahead of one's time in the
Europe of 1992."
During his short eleven year
span, Christian Dior created an
enduring fashion house whose name is known throughout the world.
Christian
Dior sun glasses are an exquisite example of the Dior legend. |