Christian Dior lived from January 21, 1905 to October 1957. Dior was a French designer. He founded one of the most important fashion houses in the world. The fashion house is now owned by Groupe Arnault.
Christian was born in a water town, within the coastal region of Normandy, France. The city is known as Granville. He was born the second of five children. He was the son of Maurice Dior. The old Dior was a prosperous producer of fertilizers. The family firm was Dior Frères. His mother was previously known as Isabelle Cardamone. Dior had four siblings: Raymond, Bernard, Jacqueline and Catherine. The family unit moved to Paris when Christian was five years old. The whole family returned again and again to the coastal region of Normandy during the summer holidays.
The family wanted the eventual designer to become a diplomat. However, Dior was quite expressive and artistically inclined. He was moved by emotion when he worked in the field of art. Dior made money from the sale of his fashion models. He was paid ten cents (US) for each drawing. Dior dropped out of school, eventually. In 1928, he obtained money from his father. With the money he financed a modest art gallery. He and an acquaintance sold art to patrons, from famous artists like Pablo Picasso. Dior’s mother and brother died three years later. Financial difficulties became reality. A financial disaster for the family fertilizer business occurred during the Great Depression. The gallery also closed its doors.
Dior became the employee of the famous fashion designer – Robert Piguet. The previous event occurred in 1937. The famous designer allowed Dior to create fashions for three of his collections. It was through Piguet’s instructions that Dior learned the valuable lesson of the simplicity of fashion. A day dress that was called “Café Anglais” was well received by the general public. Dior worked together with Pierre Balmain and was succeeded by Marc Bohan. Marc Bohan became the chief designer of Christian Dior Paris during the 1960s. Dior shared paths with Piguet when he was called up for military service.
Dior left the army in 1942. When he did, he joined the fashion house of Lucien Lelong. Balmain and Dior were the key designers of the fashion house. Dior remained an employee of the house for the rest of World War II. He worked tirelessly in his efforts to preserve the fashion industry during the war. His dedication was based on artistic and economic beliefs. Christian Dior fashionably dressed the wives of Nazi officers. Other fashion houses did the same in hot spots like Jeanne Lanvin, Nina Ricci and Jean Patou. Dior’s sister Catherine (1917 – 2008) was a member of the French resistance. She was captured by the Gestapo, at that time, and sent to a concentration camp. She remained imprisoned in the concentration camp until she was released in May 1945.
The most prosperous man in France, in 1946, was Marcel Boussac. Boussac invited Dior to become a designer for Philippe et Gaston, a fashion house in Paris established in 1925. Dior, however, wanted to make a name for himself and set up his own business. Boussac supported him in founding his fashion house. Dior’s first line was called Corolle. Corolle was presented to the public on February 12, 1947. The English name means circle of flower petals. The New Look phrase was the name given to the line by Carmel Snow, editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar.
Dior’s designs had much more depth and volume than the boxy shapes of the World War II era. The fashion of the Second World War was in line with the conservation of the material. Dior was a masterful genius in the way of establishing beautiful silhouettes. It combined percale-lined fabrics and provided many bodices that supported a fuller look. His design involved a style where the models tended to appear curvier. Their dresses flared out from the waist area. The waist area was singularly small.
Some women did not like the additional fabric, initially due to the conservation of the fabric found in the 1940s designs. Opposition eventually became a thing of the past when the shortages of World War II ended. The “New Look” provided women with a revolutionary way of dressing. His design re-established Paris as the center of fashion.
Dior passed away while on vacation in Montecatini, Italy. The date was October 24, 1957. Before his death, Dior was nominated, in 1955, for Best Costume Design. His design was created for Terminal Station. The director was Vittorio De Sica. The film was produced in 1953. After his death in 1967, the fashion designer was nominated for a BAFTA, for Best British Costume Color for Arabesque, directed by Stanley Donen (1966).
In conclusion, the Dior legend lives on: Many artists, since the 1950s, have mentioned the name Dior in their songs and in their stories.