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In 1955, 19-year-old Yves Saint Laurent became Dior's design assistant. Dior told Saint Laurent's mother in 1957 that he had chosen Saint Laurent to succeed him at Dior. She indicated later that she was confused by the remark, as Dior was only 52 at the time. [23]
- Overview
- Early life and art career
- House of Dior
- Death and legacy
Christian Dior (born January 21, 1905, Granville, France—died October 24, 1957, Montecatini, Italy) was a French fashion designer whose New Look style—characterized by ultrafeminine and highly sculptured clothing—dominated fashion in the decade following World War II. His eponymous fashion house is one of the most iconic in the world.
Dior was one of five children born to Marie-Madeleine Dior (née Martin) and Alexandre Louis Maurice Dior, who owned a lucrative manufacturing business. The family later divided its time between Paris and a villa in Granville, France. His parents wanted him to become a diplomat, and Christian Dior studied political science at the University of Paris. However, his true passion was art, and, while in his early 20s, he began selling illustrations on the street.
Later, with financial help from his father, Dior opened a small art gallery. There he showed works by such artists as Salvador Dalí, Man Ray, and Jean Cocteau. However, in the midst of the Great Depression (1929–39), his father’s business folded, and the younger Dior was forced to close the gallery. He subsequently found work as a fashion illustrator, hired by various designers as well as the magazine Figaro Illustré.
“In an epoch as somber as ours, luxury must be defended inch by inch.”
Backed by French entrepreneur Marcel Boussac, Dior founded his own fashion house in 1946. The following year he introduced the revolutionary New Look, spurring international controversy over its radically lowered hemline. The look featured small shoulders, a cinched waist, and a voluminous skirt—a drastic change from the World War II trend of padded shoulders and short skirts. One of the most defining pieces was the Bar Jacket: a fitted collared jacket that slightly flared below the waist. It was often paired with a full skirt. The name of Dior’s style was based on a quote by Harper’s Bazaar’s editor in chief Carmel Snow, who said that Dior had created a “New Look.”
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The overnight sensation of the New Look was followed by 10 years of outstanding success. In the 1950s Dior introduced a variety of new silhouettes, including the H-line, the A-line, and the Y-line. Dior was instrumental in commercializing Parisian fashion on a worldwide basis and in regaining for Parisian couturiers the ground that had temporarily been lost to American designers. His devoted following included socialites, celebrities, and royalty. However, not everyone was fond of his work. Legendary French designer Coco Chanel, who was known for simple clothing, claimed that Dior “doesn’t dress women, he upholsters them.”
Awash in creativity
In 1956 Dior published the autobiography Christian Dior et moi (Dior by Dior). The following year he suffered a fatal heart attack while vacationing in Italy. His assistant, Yves Saint Laurent, took over the couture house. Saint Laurent held this position until 1960, when he was drafted into the French army. Subsequent creative directors at the Hou...
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Apr 2, 2014 · (1905-1957) Who Was Christian Dior? Legendary fashion designer Christian Dior exploded onto the Paris fashion scene with designs that flew in the face of wartime restrictions and reintroduced a...
Feb 13, 2024 · 1941: Dior becomes a designer for Lucien Lelong, where he plays with pencil skirts and rounded pleats. 1946: Supported by industrialist Marcel Boussac, Christian Dior establishes the Christian ...
- Hedy Phillips
- Where and When Christian Dior Began. Despite being created in 1946, the Dior brand claims 1947 as its beginning year because that's when the fashion house's first collection debuted.
- Dior’s New Look. It was at Dior's very first show that he coined the "New Look." The thought behind the collection was to showcase the end of World War II, according to Culture Trip, and it came with structured silhouettes, cinched waists, and shorter, billowy skirts.
- Dior Goes Global. Soon, Dior went global. A store on Fifth Avenue and 57th Street in New York City was opened in 1948, bringing Dior stateside for the first time.
- The Introduction of Yves Saint Laurent. A fresh-faced and eager Yves Saint Laurent started working with Christian Dior in 1955 when he was just 19 years old.
His design career did not begin until 1935, when he returned to Paris and began selling sketches. The designer Robert Piguet hired him in 1938. During World War II, Dior served in the south of France, then returned again to Paris in 1941 and worked for Lucien Lelong at a much larger design house.
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Apr 5, 2012 · In 1955, the 19-year-old Yves Saint Laurent became Dior's design assistant. Christian Dior later met with Yves Saint Laurent's mother, Lucienne Mathieu-Saint Laurent, in 1957 to tell her that he had chosen Saint Laurent to succeed him at Dior.
