All about Dior
Christian Dior was born in Grenville in 1905. When he was five years old, his family moved to Paris. After a compulsory military service Dior worked as a fashion illustrator and then as a design assistant for Robert Piguet and Lucien Lelong. It was not long until he met Marcel Boussac, a fabric producer who was looking for a designer to take over a couture operation he also owned. Dior insisted that Boussac should start a completely new salon, and the famous location at 30 ave Montaigne was opened. The first collection was to be presented on 12th February, 1947 and there were to be 90 designs worn by six models.
This collection was shocking to Paris exhausted by war. Christian Dior decided that women were tired of of sacrifice and shabby clothes made with the minimum of poor-quality materials, which looked like uniforms. Instead Christian Dior offered them feminine clothes, soft rounded shapes, full flowing skirts, nipped-in waists and hemlines below the knee. The concept of the collection itself was not new, bearing a remarkable resemblance to luxurious fashions in 1900s. Dior attributed his inspiration to the pretty feminine clothes his mother was wearing.
Dior’s first collection was an outstanding success. Carmel Snow, a journalist, said "Oh Christian, what a wonderful new look" and so it was named all over the world - the New Look. Some of Dior's skirts had 35 or 40 metres of fabric in them and this was considered an awful waste. The British government even requested all English women to boycott Dior. Only after Princess Margaret made a public appearance in Dior’s flounced skirt, then the Board of Trade gave up and said, "We cannot dictate to women the length of their skirts."
Christian Dior presented in all 22 collections. Every six months he chose a theme around which most of the designs were formed: the Zig Zag Line, A Line, Y Line, Arrow Line, and all the collections were produced in most luxurious fabrics: satins, wools, taffetas and finest embroidery. None of these collections failed, neither critically nor commercially.
Very sensitive and gentle person, Christian Dior had an immense talent of bringing talented people to work for him. Very soon he invited Pierre Cardin, Jean-Louis Scherrer and Yves Saint Laurent who were all later to open their own couture houses. In 1955 Yves Saint Laurent became Dior's first and only designing assistant. Later on, Marc Bohan followed Yves Saint Laurent and remained nearly 30 years as head of Dior.
In 1957 Christian Dior died of a heart attack and Yves Saint Laurent took over as an artistic head. By that time, the house of Dior employed over 1200 employees, spread among 28 workrooms. Dior even had his own police force to prevent pirating! Christian Dior perfume company was founded in 1947 with the first perfume "Miss Dior", and skincare and makeup line launched in 1955. By the time Dior died, corsetry, furs, accessories, knitwear, lingerie, and shoes were produced under Christian Dior name. In 1995 Diana, Princess of Wales, created an iconic status for Dior bags simply by carrying her “Lady Dior” purse on her wrist.
Yves Saint Laurent presented six collections for Dior, and when in 1960 he was called for military service, on his return he found that Marc Bohan had been given charge of the House of Dior. Saint Laurent sued legally against Dior and was granted compensation of 48,000 pounds which he used to set up his own fashion empire. Christian Dior attracted many young talents such as Founded in 1950, the futuristic visions of the House of Cardin were a 'style de force' in the 1960s and 1970s. Both Scherrer and Yves Saint Laurent were to found their couture houses in 1962.
Gianfranco Ferré followed in Saint Laurent's footsteps in 1989, respectively. British designer John Galliano (born in 1961) succeeded Gianfranco Ferré at the house of Dior in 1996, which has been part of the Louis Vuitton-Moet Hennessy (LVMH) empire since 1985. Graduate of London's prestigious St. Martins College of Art & Design, John Galliano offered Dior a sophisticated combination of audaciousness, glamour and street chic that has attracted stars from Madonna to Nicole Kidman.
In 1999 avant-garde jeweller Victoire de Castellane was invited to launch Dior Haute Joaillerie collection. More stores were opened around the world including Tokyo, Hong Kong, Sydney, Dallas, Moscow and Sao Paolo.
In 2001 Hedi Slimane became the first menswear designer at Dior, launching Dior Homme collection. Since 2003 John Galliano is overseeing both womenswear and menswear at Dior. Even though his fashion shows occasionally make people hallucinate, rumours say that Galliano creates the most beautiful work for his private clients.
Christian Dior does not have a boutique in Toronto. Limited selection of clothing, leather goods, and menswear is available in Holt Renfrew, Yorkdale.
Christian Dior creations also can be found in Chez Catherine, Hazelton Lanes, 55 Avenue Rd.
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