Christian Dior History

Christian Dior was born in 1905 in Granville Normandy, France. A few years later the family moved to Paris, but would return to Granville for holidays.

Even as a child, Christian showed an interest and aptitude for design. As a young man Christian's interest lay in the arts, however, he was schooled in political science at his parents insistence. During this time he still nurtured his interests in art and design.

In the late 1920s Christian opened an art gallery with financial help from his father. It became a popular hangout and boasted work from Pablo Picasso, among others. Sadly, the gallery closed a few years later due to the deaths of Christian's brother and mother, and financial disaster with the family business.

After years of just scraping by, Christian began selling sketches of his clothing designs which began to bring in a decent income. Eventually he was hired by the couturier Robert Piguet as an assistant.

During the second World War Christian served for a year in 1939. After his service he spent some time living with his remaining family, and after much deliberation, returned to Paris and took a job with couturier Lucien Lelong.

At this point Paris was in turmoil. Years of war and harsh German occupation left much of the city destroyed and the spirit of the people equally disparaged. Fashion in Paris had suffered the same fate, having lost its prewar vibrance and quality of excess. However, this set the stage for Christian to go into business for himself and create his bold "new look". In 1946 he opened his own fashion house in collaboration with Marcel Boussac, a manufacturer of textiles. Christian's collection created a striking contrast to the stark, minimal war-rashion style that had become the norm. Despite some misgivings, people were ready for a change.

Dior's "new look" revitalized Paris fashion, creating striking silhouettes that boldly accentuated the natural curves of a womans body, rather than washing it out. He continued to create collections that showcased his skill and innovation, catapulting him to the forefront of high fashion in Europe and eventually America.

Christian's savvy and innovation extended to his business practices as well. He was at the forefront of collecting royalties and licensing designs rather than selling for an upfront lump sum, enabling him to build the Dior brand globally while maintaining better control of his products.

Christian Dior died in 1957. Yves Saint Laurent took creative control of the company, and a few years later was succeeded by Marc Bohan who held the position until the late 1980s when GianFranco Ferre took over.

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