Dior, which has an indisputable role in the revival of Paris as the fashion capital after war, has managed to stay at the summit with every collection it has presented for seventy-seven years.
Introduction to Dior…
Christian Dior, more commonly known as Dior, is known for its revolutions in women’s fashion. The luxury fashion house was the catalyst for the revival of Paris as the fashion capital of the world after the Second World War. Dior was founded on the ideals of classic, timeless fashion combined with feminine beauty, but over the decades, all of his designs have also become symbols of bold and powerful statements. The brand, which was introduced to the fashion industry in 1946 by French designer Christian Dior, today designs and offers a wide range of products such as clothing, leather goods, fashion accessories, shoes, jewelry, eyewear, watches, fragrances, makeup and skin care. It also continues its haute-couture tradition under the Christian Dior Couture division, while offering products under the Dior Homme label for men and Baby Dior for children’s wear. Nevertheless, the Dior brand is always one step closer to women and their styles, in line with its founding purpose.
The Early Years of Dior…
As a forty-year-old designer, Christian Dior had already honed his craft in several of Paris’s great fashion houses when he refused an offer to become Creative Director of the Philipe et Gaston fashion house. Dior, who was highly superstitious, took the advice of his fortune teller and decided to strike out on his own in the fashion industry. After much planning, in 1946 he chooses 30 Avenue Montaigne as his headquarters in Paris and begins to redesign it according to his vision. Victor Grandpierre prepares the fashion house’s first atelier with an interior design inspired by the neoclassical Louis XVI style favored by Christian Dior. Christian Dior presents his first collection in 1947 at 30 Avenue Montaigne in the presence of some of the world’s top fashion editors. The voluminous silhouettes, long skirts and slender waists in the collection were considered a revolution in fashion circles, as they were so different from the clothes that designers could produce with wartime fabric rationing. The clothes from Dior’s first collection were so widely covered in the press as the ‘New Look’ that continues to be one of the defining characteristics of Dior’s style to this day, resonating all over the world. This first fashion show also introduced one of the brand’s most iconic pieces, the Bar Jacket. Made of cream shantug, the jacket, with its accentuated bust and rounded hips, elegantly complemented the curves of the female body and had never been seen before. Paired with a slightly flared skirt, slender shoes and a pillar box hat, the Bar Jacket had a fresh and modern feel, far removed from the dignified styles of the wartime era. That same year, Christian Dior appointed Pierre Cardin as head of the Dior Studio and founded Parfums Christian Dior. The brand’s first perfume, Miss Dior, was an instant hit. The success of the fashion house was such that new locations were added to 30 Avenue Montaigne. For this reason, in 1948, 11b, 13 and 15 Rue Francois, adjacent to the existing location, were also leased. In the same year, Dior decided to exhibit its collections abroad to consolidate its international recognition.
The 50s at Dior…
Christian Dior begins its global journey with a fashion show in Sydney and opens its first boutique in New York. Within two years, Dior debuts his designs in the United States. The French designer’s popularity in America grows even more when he designs Marlene Dietrich’s costumes for Alfred Hitchcock’s Stage Fright. Pierre Cardin leaves Dior in 1950 to start his own fashion house. By 1951, Dior collaborates with the famous painter Salvador Dali to create costumes for Charles de Beistegui’s Ball of the Century. Also in 1951, he publishes his first book, Je Suis Couturier. By 1953, the French brand has grown to employ more than a thousand people in twenty-eight ateliers. The once modest 30 Avenue Montaigne is transformed into a five-story behemoth of ateliers, workshops and exhibition spaces. Advocating a modern approach to business life, the fashion house’s location was transformed into a holistic complex that included a rest room for models, an infirmary, a subsidized cafeteria and a bedroom next to Christian Dior’s office. Today, the space remains the brand’s global flagship and the inspiration for everything from perfumes to ready-to-wear. Also in 1953, Dior partnered with Roger Vivier to introduce a bespoke shoe line and launched the brand’s first lipstick. In 1955, Yves Saint Laurent was hired as Christian Dior’s first assistant. However, when Christian Dior died of a heart attack in 1957 at the age of fifty-two, the fashion world mourned the death of an industry icon who had died too soon. After Dior’s death, Saint Laurent was given the role of Creative Director to preserve the spirit of the brand.
The 60s and 70s at Dior…
After the death of Christian Dior, the long-established French brand has managed to preserve its legacy under the direction of very important Creative Directors. After Yves Saint Laurent was called up for military service in 1960, he was replaced by Marc Bohan, who had previously headed the Christian Dior subsidiary in London. Marc Bohan brought the brand’s designs more in line with Christian Dior’s classic vision. He took Christian Dior’s concept and modernized it a bit, bringing it into the 1960s and giving it a more modern twist while staying true to the Christian Dior look. When Elizabeth Taylor wore Dior’s Soiree a Rio dress with a green chiffon top and ivory skirt to accept the Best Actress Oscar in 1961, the French brand proved that it would continue to fascinate after the loss of its founder. With Bohan at the helm, Dior regained its position as a globally loved and admired brand. Bohan remained at Dior for more than a decade, continuing to build the brand and making it even more internationally successful. By launching ready-to-wear and children’s clothing, he made Dior more accessible than ever. During his reign, stores began to open in cities as diverse as London and Hong Kong, and the Dior brand rose to the summit of the fashion world. In 1967, the Dior brand launched its ready-to-wear collection, Miss Dior, and continued to expand by opening the first Baby Dior children’s clothing boutique in Paris. With the creation of Dior Cosmetics in 1968, the brand introduces its first comprehensive collection of beauty and cosmetics. Later that year, Parfums Christian Dior is sold to Moët Hennessy. Creative Director Marc Bohan, who has made great contributions to the French brand, designs Dior’s first men’s ready-to-wear collection in 1970, giving the brand momentum. In 1978, the Marcel Broussac Group, which had financed the founding of Dior in 1946, files for bankruptcy. The Dior trademark and assets are sold to the Willot Group.
The 80s and 90s at Dior…
In 1981, Dior is chosen by many important guests, including Princess Grace of Monaco, Queen Alexandra of Yugoslavia and Lady Pamela Hicks, to design dresses for the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer. After the Willot Group files for bankruptcy in 1982, a group of executives led by Bernard Arnault buys Dior for a symbolic sum. The following year, Bernard Arnault is appointed chairman of the Christian Dior Company. In 1987, the fortieth anniversary of the brand is celebrated at the Museé des Arts Decoratifs in Paris with the exhibition “Homage to Christian Dior: 1947-1957” exhibition at the Museé des Arts Decoratifs in Paris. Marc Bohan, the brand’s renowned Creative Director, leaves Dior in 1989 to take up a position with Norman Hartnell. In the same year, Gianfranco Ferré becomes Creative Director of the French brand’s women’s collections. In 1996, John Galliano replaces Gianfranco Ferré as Creative Director of the women’s collections. John Galliano took Dior into the new millennium, dressing every star imaginable, including Diana, Princess of Wales. Princess Diana not only followed John Galliano’s fashion by wearing his clothes, but she was also fond of his handbags. Although Galliano’s bags for Dior were extremely popular, Princess Diana’s favorite was the iconic Lady Dior bag, which Galliano later designed with her approval. Princess Diana took this elegant black bag with her everywhere and played a major role in the popularization of Dior’s leather products. The famous fashion house celebrated its golden anniversary at the Met Museum in New York with the spectacular “Christian Dior: 1947-1957” exhibition at the Met Museum in New York. The Granville mansion, once owned by the Dior family and confiscated by the town during the economic depression of 1929, was transformed into the Christian Dior museum in 1997. The brand’s iconic flagship, 30 Avenue Montaigne, was reactivated after Peter Marino’s interior design renovations. Victoire de Castellane becomes the first Creative Director of Dior Fine Jewellery in 1998.
The 2000s at Dior…
The French brand started the millennium with Hedi Slimane as Creative Director of Dior Homme. Hedi Slimane held the position for only seven years and was replaced by Kris van Assche in 2007. The long-established brand celebrated its sixtieth anniversary with a retrospective fashion show at the Palace of Versailles. The audience of the spectacular fashion show included society’s leading names as well as celebrities from the world of celebrities, far exceeding expectations. Following an unpleasant incident in Paris, John Galliano left Dior in 2011 and was replaced by Raf Simons the following year. Raf Simons tried to bring Dior closer to its roots in his collections. Simons’ designs were simpler and more feminine, reminiscent of classic Dior. Raf Simons resigned in 2016 and was replaced by Maria Grazia Chiuri, who joined Dior from Valentino. As the luxury brand’s first female Creative Director, Maria Grazia Chiuri created her own feminine line, adding a female touch to Christian Dior’s style, but her style was in line with the design spirit Dior had established years before. Unlike all the male Creative Directors who came before her, Chiuri was able to bring a bold and strong social consciousness to the brand. In 2017, the Arnault family bought a minority stake in Dior from minority investors for thirteen billion dollars, bringing the long-established French brand into the LVMH Group, globally recognized as a luxury empire. In 2018, Kim Jones replaced Kris Van Assche as head of Dior Homme. Joining Dior from Louis Vuitton, Jones’ first job was to design the morning suit for David Beckham for Prince Harry’s wedding. Christian Dior preserved its deep-rooted heritage that has withstood years and difficult conditions during the coronavirus pandemic that negatively affected the whole world in 2020. The brand’s Fall/Winter 2020 Womenswear and Spring/Summer 2021 Menswear collections were presented in fully digital formats. Maria Grazia Chiuri continued the tradition with Le Mythe de Dior, a fashion film featuring miniature versions of the collection that pays homage to the Théâtre de la Mode traveling exhibition in 1945, while menswear designer Kim Jones highlighted the fashion house’s diversity featuring all black models digital show created in collaboration with painter Amoako Boafo.
Dior Eyewear
German eyewear manufacturer Wilhelm Anger, founder of Optyl International, secured a license from Dior in 1969 and revolutionized eyewear production. Using his own invention, Optyl, a lightweight, thermosetting plastic, he transformed luxury sunglasses into more accessible accessories that could be worn every day. The properties of this material allowed him to create designs with broad and original lines, in colors that were unknown until then. This collaboration, which translated Dior’s elegant and sophisticated style into luxury eyewear collections, allowed the introduction of a wide range of models with the delicate gradient of transparent, brown, green and grey colors that still characterizes Dior today, and made Dior eyewear a big hit. By the mid-1970s, Dior’s eyewear collections dominated the optical industry, and by the 1990s, Dior’s dominance was constantly expanding. The Monsieur collection for men, which debuted in the 1980s, took its place among Dior’s most successful lines with its elegantly designed eyewear. In 1996, Dior Eyewear signed a long-term license agreement with the renowned Italian Safilo Group for the design, manufacture and global distribution of its optical and sunglasses. This collaboration, which has been extended with renewal agreements over the years, continued until December 31st of 2020. After parting ways with Safilo Group, Dior Eyewear signed a global license agreement with Madrid-based Thélios, a joint venture between LVMH and Marcolin Group. The first Dior eyewear collection designed in collaboration with Thélios was launched in January 2021. Today, Dior Eyewear continues to offer exclusive designs synonymous with modern elegance and optimum protection, combining innovative materials with geometric lines and generous volumes to create unique, attractive eyewear.
May 2023
