About Dior

Christian Dior S.A. (more commonly known as Dior) is a French company which owns the high-fashion clothing producer and retailer Christian Dior Couture, as well as holding 42% of LVMH Moët Hennessy • Louis Vuitton, the world's largest luxury goods firm. Both Dior and LVMH are controlled and chaired by businessman Bernard Arnault. The Dior label is the namesake of designer Christian Dior who launched the haute couture empire in 1946. Christian Dior Couture, a division of the whole House of Dior, designs and produces some of the world's most coveted haute couture, as well as luxury ready-to-wear fashion, menswear and accessories. Today, Dior operates about 160 boutiques worldwide with plans to open more in the coming years.

Founding

The House of Dior was established on December 16, 1946, in "a private house" at 30 Avenue Montaigne Paris B. However, the current Dior corporation celebrates "1947" as the opening year. Dior was financially backed by wealthy businessman Marcel Boussac. The new couture house became a part of "a vertically integrated textile business" already operated by Boussac. Its capital was at FFr 6 million and workforce at 80 employees. The company was really a vanity project for Boussac and was a "majorly owned affiliate of Boussac Saint-Freres S.A. Nevertheless, Monsieur Dior was allowed a then-unusual great part in his namesake label (legal leadership, a non-controlling stake in the firm, and one-third of pretax profits) despite Boussac's reputation as a "control freak". Monsieur Dior's creativity also negotiated him a pleasant salary.

The "New Look"

On 12 February 1947, Dior launched his first fashion collection for Spring-Summer 1947. The show of "90 models of his first collection on six mannequins." was presented in the salons of the company's headquarters at 30 Avenue Montaigne. Originally, the two lines were named as "Corolle" and "Huit" (which included the new "Bar suit" silhouette). However, the new collection went down in fashion history as the "New Look" after Harper's Bazaar 's editor-in-chief Carmel Snow's exclamation, "It's such a New Look!" The signature shape was characterized by a below-mid-calf length, full-skirt, large bust (which had fallen from style in 1912), and small waist. In refutation to the post-war fabric restriction, Dior used twenty yards of extravagant fabrics in his creations. Over time however, the New Look became revolutionary and strongly popular, influencing fashion and other designers for many years to come. Prominent Hollywood figures and the European upper-class became instant clients. Paris, which had fallen from its position as the capital of the fashion world after WWII, regained its esteemed position due in part to the attention it gained form Dior's New Look.

Dior History

Christian Dior fashions are loved by many, the highly recognizable Dior handbags, Dior sunglasses, Dior shoes, Dior Dresses, even Dior cologne; but who actually was this great fashion designer Christian Dior that has us all so intrigued? Christian Dior was an influential French fashion designer that was born in Normandy, France (1905-1957). He studied political science at his parent's insistence. After serving the obligatory 2 years in the French Army. After he got out, he opened an art gallery and was an art dealer from 1928-1931. He returned to Paris in 1935 and began his fashion design career by selling sketches. His hat designs were initially more successful than his dress designs. His dress designs were very much liked by some, especially Robert Piguet, who hired him in 1938.

During the great depression, Christian Dior lost his mother. His father's company declared bankruptcy at this time and Christian Dior himself contracted tuberculosis. Christian Dior's fashion design talent began to immerge during this hard time of his life. Christian Dior then began to work as a fashion illustrator and then as an assistant designer. Christian Dior was one of the many who were deployed by the French Army. After the war in 1939, he returned to fashion designing and in 1947, he launched the House of Dior.

For his first collection in 1947, he created the revolutionary "New Look" (actually called "Corolle Line") by Christian Dior himself, which featured rounded shoulders, a cinched waist, and the circular skirt, all created in luxurious fabrics. His new look employed fabrics lined predominantly with percale, boned, bustier-style bodices, hip padding, wasp-waisted corsets and petticoats that made his dresses flare out from the waist, giving his models a very curvaceous form. The hem of the Dior skirt was very flattering on the calves and ankles, creating a beautiful silhouette. Dior fashions meant it was back to femininity and luxury after the poor and depraved look due to the war. Christian Dior helped to re-establish Paris as the capital of world-fashion after the war. Dior became a great dictator of style during the 1950s. Each Dior collection throughout this period had a theme - classic suits, ballerina-length skirts, the H-line in 1954, and A- and Y-lines in 1955.

Dior became superstitous in his later years and every collection that he created included a coat called the Granville (named after his birthplace), at least one model wore a bunch of his favorite flower, lily of the valley, and Dior never began a couture show without having consulted his tarot card reader. Christian Dior's career as a top fashion designer only lasted 10 years (he died in 1957). The House of Dior continued to live, first under Yves Saint Laurent, and currently under John Galliano. Galliano's appraoch to fashion resembles Dior's intention when he started in 1947. In contrast to Chanel for example, Dior established a romantic and very feminine look, which emphasised luxury rather than comfort. Galliano, as Dior's successor, creates an equally feminine style, blending today's freedom of expression with the reminiscence of past opulence. The Dior brand has continued to be a label we all want, fantastic handbags and accessories, so we can all enjoy a bit of Dior in our styles.