Christian Dior

Christian Dior (January 21, 1905 – October 24, 1957), was an influential French fashion designer. He was born in Granville, Manche, Normandy, France. more...

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Early life

Dior was heir to a fertilizer fortune. He attended a Catholic school, after which he established his main house in 1946 with the backing of textile magnate. In twelve years he expanded his business to 15 countries and employed over 2,000 people. He never married.

The New Look

Christian Dior is known mainly for the look which employed narrow shoulders, a constricted waist, an emphasized bust, and long, wide skirt, all in striking contrast to the severity of wartime fashions. His designs represented consistent classic elegance, stressing the feminine look. The New Look revolutionized women's dress and reestablished Paris as the center of the fashion world after World War II. Dior spread his fashions around the world when he and his partner, Jacques Rouet, started franchises in the fashion industry. In 1953 Yves Saint-Laurent became Dior's assistant and was destined to be his successor but was reluctantly forced to leave when the time came for his military service. On returning, after trouble with his temporary replacement, Saint-Laurent soon opened his own maison de couture once his military obligations were over.

Personal life

Towards the end of his life Dior became unwell, requiring injections to wake up in the morning, injections for his appetite, and further injections to sleep. His niece Françoise Dior, who had once been his favourite (at her marriage with Count Robert-Henri de Caumont la Force it was Dior who gave the bride away at the ceremony while his brother, Raymond, sat drinking in a local bar) held Nazi sympathies. She openly blamed Dior's Jewish manageress who procured his medications, along with a collection of young men, for being part of a supposed Jewish plot forcing him towards his death. For once Raymond agreed with his rebel daughter, though he discounted the theory that the plot was Jewish. Under French inheritance law, Raymond should have been Dior's successor, but the rift provoked by Françoise caused Dior to disinherit his close family totally.

At the time of his death, Dior salons had been opened in 24 countries. The Dior firm, successively led by designers Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Bohan and John Galliano, continued to be a fashion leader. It was associated with a much wider range of merchandise, including menswear, household linens, and such fragrances as Diorissimo, Miss Dior, Diorama and Diorling.

Menswear

Read more at Wikipedia.org