Christian Dior is associated with classic, timeless fashion and feminine beauty. Whether it’s a ready-to-wear cocktail dress or an haute couture red carpet gown, the French label, which dates back to the 1940s, has been providing women all over the world with some of the most beautiful garments, whether it’s a ready-to-wear cocktail dress or an haute couture red carpet gown, the French brand has been providing women all over the world with some of the most beautiful garments. In this topic, we’ll go over ten facts about Dior you may not have known about, yet. So, without further ado, let us explore the subject.
1. How and When Christian Dior Began
Christian Dior’s parents had high expectations for the French fashion designer, even though he had no interest in fashion. Maurice and Françoise, his parents, wanted him to join the French diplomatic service, so he attended the Ecole des Sciences Politiques from 1920 to 1925, creating fashion sketches on the side to supplement his income. Fortunately for us, Dior had different ideas. He wanted to pursue his artistic side and began by selling his sketches for pocket money on the street.
Before entering the fashion industry, Dior had a strong passion for art and even ran an art gallery in France. He worked for fashion designer Robert Piguet and then-couturier Lucien Long after closing his gallery during the Great Depression. Dior, on the other hand, was eager for his work to be seen, which led him to create his own fashion house in 1946, and Christian Dior was born. Although the Christian Dior brand was founded in 1946, the first collection of the design house debuted in 1947. The designer established his fashion house at 30 Avenue Montaigne in Paris. Christian Dior’s debut collection was shown on Feb. 12, 1947, less than three months after the brand was founded.
2. First collection New Look
Christian Dior coined the phrase “New Look” at his very first exhibition. According to Culture Trip, the collection was inspired by the conclusion of World War II and featured structured forms, nipped waists, and shorter, billowy skirts. The dresses were lavish, with each one requiring an average of 20 yards of fabric. Christian Dior’s designs were, in a word, groundbreaking at the time, and soon established the fashion company as one of the most coveted and adored. The stars flocked to Christian Dior; everyone from Rita Hayworth to Margot Fonteyn wanted to dress up in this avant-garde New Look.
The following Dior collections were more restrained. The waist and hips were given less attention. Depending on the circumstance, each collection featured a distinct silhouette. As a result, Dior’s fashion shows were and continue to be highly awaited. CD believed that fashion could provide what women required. It’s no surprise that the brand grew so swiftly and became one of the most iconic in sartorial history with such high-profile women wearing his garments.
3. Flowers in every collection
Christian Dior’s youth inspired the flower theme. His mother Madeleine’s garden in their Granville family home instilled in him a passion for flowers that he carried with him throughout his life. The young child would spend hours poring over the Vilmorin-Andrieux gardening catalogs, which taught him everything he needed to know about the plants he wanted to tame. He did not forget the aroma of his childhood flowers when he entered the world of Haute Couture, incorporating them into his creations. They brought him success in the form of the New Look, with its broad corolla-shaped skirt and slender calyx-like bodice, and its flower-woman.
Flowers defined Dior’s style, with his gowns sprinkled with solitary blooms or bouquets, embroidered with meadow flowers, or draped in the shape of a rose, such as the Opéra Bouffe gown. Christian Dior, like the impressionist painters, preferred to sketch his collections outside, in his Milly-la-Forêt or La Colle Noire gardens, surrounded by his quiet muses. This trend continued long after he left Dior, with Marc Bohan, Gianfranco Ferré, and John Galliano, all avid gardeners, adorning the House of Dior creations with flowers. Flowers in all their delicacy bloom anew in the form of Haute Couture creations, thanks to the refinement of the abilities that make up the House of Dior.
4. Dior goes global
Christian Dior swiftly becomes a global brand. In 1948, Christian Dior launched his first store in the United States, on Fifth Avenue and 57th Street in New York City. With the global introduction, the collection was also enlarged. Dior began with perfume, launching Miss Dior, which he dedicated to his sister. Around this time, Dior realized that to maintain his New Look, his business needed to offer the complete fashion experience.
This included obtaining a license to use the Dior name on accessories. The Christian Dior woman might now have all of the coats, shoes, hats, and other accessories she needs to complete the New Look from head to toe. The Christian Dior brand grew in popularity, and Dior himself continued to dress the most celebrities of the day. He dressed Marlene Dietrich for her performance in Alfred Hitchcock’s Stage Fright in 1950. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, his creations were a staple in her closet, as they were for a slew of other actresses.
5. The Introduction of Yves Saint Laurent
When he was 19 years old, Yves Saint Laurent began working for Christian Dior as a fresh-faced and energetic young man. He began his career at the fashion house as Dior’s assistant, but it didn’t take long for the label’s creative genius to recognize the young Frenchman’s talent. According to Vogue, Dior visited Saint Laurent’s mother in 1957 to inform her that he’d picked her son to take over the brand when the time came. Even though he was only 21 years old at the time, Dior recognized his fashion sense and creative ability.
Christian Dior died of a heart attack two years later, and the young Yves Saint-Laurent took over as artistic director of the Dior house. Over 2,500 individuals attended Christian Dior’s funeral, including family, friends, and the devoted clientele he had accumulated over his brilliant career. His successor, a 21-year-old Yves Saint Laurent, was also present, having worked under Dior’s tutelage for two years before his death. Saint Laurent was photographed by LIFE Magazine after the ceremony, standing alone and appearing in melancholy because not only had he lost his mentor, but he was also set to become the world’s youngest couturier.
6. Christian Dior’s Death
Dior died after a major heart attack in 1957. He was only 52 years old when he died, and the whole fashion world mourned his passing, knowing that an industry giant had died far too soon. Saint Laurent was assigned the responsibility of the artistic director to keep the brand on track after Dior’s death. Dior’s legacy was carried on by the 21-year-old, who mainly maintained the original creative vision. He did, however, try to soften the brand’s silhouette by loosening the nipped waists and allowing some of the structure out. As the industry sought to reconcile someone else heading the Christian Dior brand, the collections were a hit or miss, and when Saint Laurent was called to serve in the French army in 1960, he was easily discharged from the brand.
Following Yves Saint Laurent’s departure, Marc Bohan took control, bringing the label’s designs back to a more closely resemble what Christian Dior did before his death. He streamlined Christian Dior’s classic concept and moved it into the 1960s, giving it a more modern twist while staying true to the Christian Dior aesthetic. With Bohan at the lead, Christian Dior re-emerged as a feminine brand cherished by women, while remaining true to its founder’s heritage.
7. The story behind the Miss Dior perfume
Catherine Dior, Christian Dior’s sister, was a member of the French Resistance against the Nazi occupation during World War II. She was apprehended by the Gestapo and deported to Germany’s Ravensbrück concentration camp, where she remained until her liberation in 1945. Dior named one of his perfumes “Miss Dior” as a tribute to her sister. The fragrance’s essence is particularly floral, a nod to their time spent in Grasse, in the south of France.
This perfume is now available under the name “Miss Dior Eau de Toilette Originale.” “I designed this perfume to surround each woman in beautiful femininity, as each of my creations emerged from the bottle one by one,” Christian Dior remarked of this magnificent fragrance.
8. Dior’s Impressive Creative Leaders and the LVMH Purchase
Bohan continued with Christian Dior for over a decade, helping to expand the brand and make it even more popular on the worldwide stage. Christian Dior became more accessible than ever before with the introduction of ready-to-wear and baby garments. Christian Dior was catapulted to the top of the fashion industry as new stores opened in cities such as London and Hong Kong. However, in 1978, the Boussac Group, which managed the brand, filed for bankruptcy, which included the brand’s assets. Bernard Arnault, the entrepreneur behind LVMH Mot Hennessy, bought Christian Dior. Arnault was named chairman, CEO, and managing director of Christian Dior when he took over the company. Despite being absorbed by LVMH, Christian Dior remained a formidable standalone brand.
With the new direction, Gianfranco Ferre was hired as style director in 1989, and he not only branched out into haute couture, but he also entirely conceptualized Christian Dior Couture, ushering in a new era for the Christian Dior brand. Ferre took the brand to a new level by infusing it with his sense of style, which included a more refined appearance than the brand had previously seen. Dior Homme, often known as Dior’s male business, was founded in 2001, with Hedi Slimane as its creative director.
9. Dior staged a private presentation for the British royal family
Christian Dior was even invited by the British Royal Family to perform a special presentation of his collection, despite having prominent clients like Rita Hayworth and Margot Fonteyn. It is alleged that King George V barred the young princesses, Elizabeth and Margaret, from wearing clothes from the New Look collection because he believed they would set a negative example in the post-World War II rationing era, and because Dior’s designs were lavish and expensive.
Christian Dior was unquestionably one of the most influential figures in the fashion industry, as seen by the future trends and directions he established with his inventive creations. Many people feel that because his name is so well-known, they already know everything there is to know about the renowned designer, whose legacy is inscribed in our stylish mind alongside Coco Chanel, Jeanne-Marie Lanvin, and Hubert de Givenchy. In reality, the depths of his personality go well beyond his role in popularizing cinched-in waists and voluminous skirting.
10. The first to license his name and goes digital
Christian Dior was the first designer to license his name to a line of high-end accessories such as ties, furs, hosiery, and purses in 1949. He was chastised for it since it was thought to devalue haute couture. However, the strategy was so beneficial for the business that other fashion firms quickly followed suit.
Many fashion businesses were compelled to rethink runway events in 2020 as a result of Covid-19, opting instead for socially detached, filmed, and live-streamed presentations. The list included Dior. Dior Homme, whose creative director Kim Jones has been since 2019, not only created a doll-sized couture collection but also exhibited its pre-Fall 2021 collection through a virtual runway. Only time will tell if the brand will continue to display its clothes this way. Christian Dior’s label has also maintained the test of time, developing with each new creative visionary that has passed through its doors. The fashion company has welcomed some of the industry’s most remarkable talent and will undoubtedly continue to do so in the future.
Final takeaway
Now, all I want to know is whether or not you find this information fascinating. Do you know any other interesting facts about this fashion icon? Please do not hesitate to send them to me!
