Christian Dior

get alerts about this designer get alerts about this designer

Who says recessions can't have a silver lining? When the 1929 stock market crash ran Christian Dior's art gallery out of business, the onetime political science student found a new way to earn his bread: selling sketches to Parisian couture houses and doing illustrations for the fashion pages of Le Figaro. Eventually, his talent was recognized by Marcel Boussac, a textile magnate, who financed Dior's own couture house, buying a mansion on the Avenue Montaigne and helping his protégé set up shop in 1946.

Dior's first collection, in 1947, was a shot heard round the world—without exaggeration probably the most famous single season in style history. The New Look—which harked back to the excesses of the Belle Époque and brushed away bad memories of wartime fabric rationing with a sweep of crinolines—featured wasp-waisted, full-skirted silhouettes nipped in by boned corsets and fleshed out with hip padding. While a few protesters took offense at Dior's decadent swaths upon swaths of material, it was an international sensation.

Over the next decade, Dior remained an oracle on the Right Bank, dictating nouvelle directions that trickled down to the masses, inking forward-thinking licensing deals, and appearing on the cover of Time magazine. In 1957, however, the world was shocked when he suddenly died. Proving to be as headline-making in death as in life, he had suffered a heart attack at an Italian spa at the age of 52.

Dior's 21-year-old assistant was left to "save fashion," as the newspapers shrieked. The understudy's name? Yves Saint Laurent, perhaps the only man of his day brilliant enough to fill such impressive chaussures. Saint Laurent's own first collection, the controversial Trapeze show, made waves almost as stormy as those of the New Look, but he pushed the envelope a little too far with his Beatnik collection a few years later, after which Saint Laurent left the house amid another firestorm of controversy.

Since then, a parade of boldfaced names (Marc Bohan, Gianfranco Ferré, and, most memorably, John Galliano, the house's current designer) has kept the flame burning—and the registers ringing with sales of It accessories. Bernard Arnault, who acquired Dior in 1985, brought the fabled house under the sheltering wing of LVMH, ensuring the lights will continue to burn brightly at 30 Avenue Montaigne.

ALL ON STYLE.COM
ABOUT THE DESIGNER
ARTICLES
VIDEO

FASHION SHOWS (46)

Spring 2010 Couture

reviews and complete collections

January 25, 2010 12:00AM

  1. All Seasons

  2. Ready-to-wear

  3. Resort

  4. Pre-Fall

  5. Couture

select a collection
  1. Spring 2010 Couture
  2. Pre-Fall 2010
  3. Spring 2010 RTW
  4. Fall 2009 Couture
  5. Resort 2010
  6. Fall 2009 RTW
  7. Spring 2009 Couture
  8. Pre-Fall 2009
  9. Spring 2009 RTW
  10. Fall 2008 Couture
  11. Resort 2009
  12. Fall 2008 RTW
  13. Spring 2008 Couture
  14. Spring 2008 RTW
  15. Fall 2007 Couture
  16. Resort 2008
  17. Fall 2007 RTW
  18. Spring 2007 Couture
  19. Spring 2007 RTW
  20. Fall 2006 Couture
  21. Resort 2007
  22. Fall 2006 RTW
  23. Spring 2006 Couture
  24. Spring 2006 RTW
  25. Fall 2005 Couture
  26. Fall 2005 RTW
  27. Spring 2005 Couture
  28. Spring 2005 RTW
  29. Fall 2004 Couture
  30. Fall 2004 RTW
  31. Spring 2004 Couture
  32. Fall 2003 Couture
  33. Spring 2004 RTW
  34. Fall 2003 RTW
  35. Spring 2003 Couture
  36. Fall 2002 Couture
  37. Spring 2003 RTW
  38. Fall 2002 RTW
  39. Spring 2002 Couture
  40. Spring 2002 RTW
  41. Fall 2001 Couture
  42. Fall 2001 RTW
  43. Spring 2001 Couture
  44. Spring 2001 RTW
  45. Fall 2000 RTW
  46. Spring 2000 RTW
  1. Spring 2010 RTW
  2. Fall 2009 RTW
  3. Spring 2009 RTW
  4. Fall 2008 RTW
  5. Spring 2008 RTW
  6. Fall 2007 RTW
  7. Spring 2007 RTW
  8. Fall 2006 RTW
  9. Spring 2006 RTW
  10. Fall 2005 RTW
  11. Spring 2005 RTW
  12. Fall 2004 RTW
  13. Spring 2004 RTW
  14. Fall 2003 RTW
  15. Spring 2003 RTW
  16. Fall 2002 RTW
  17. Spring 2002 RTW
  18. Fall 2001 RTW
  19. Spring 2001 RTW
  20. Fall 2000 RTW
  21. Spring 2000 RTW
  1. Resort 2010
  2. Resort 2009
  3. Resort 2008
  4. Resort 2007
  1. Pre-Fall 2010
  2. Pre-Fall 2009
  1. Spring 2010 Couture
  2. Fall 2009 Couture
  3. Spring 2009 Couture
  4. Fall 2008 Couture
  5. Spring 2008 Couture
  6. Fall 2007 Couture
  7. Spring 2007 Couture
  8. Fall 2006 Couture
  9. Spring 2006 Couture
  10. Fall 2005 Couture
  11. Spring 2005 Couture
  12. Fall 2004 Couture
  13. Spring 2004 Couture
  14. Fall 2003 Couture
  15. Spring 2003 Couture
  16. Fall 2002 Couture
  17. Spring 2002 Couture
  18. Fall 2001 Couture
  19. Spring 2001 Couture

RELATED ARTICLES (9)

more related articles ›

ABOUT THE DESIGNER

John Galliano

John Galliano

With his muscle-bound physique and runway swagger (no reticent post-show wave from backstage for this designer), John Galliano almost upstages the sensational creations he dreams up for the House of Dior and his own line. Almost. A provocateur since his French Revolution-themed graduation collection at Central Saint Martins, Galliano excels at excess. more >


Style.com

Style File Blog

february 09, 2010

Social intelligence

Postcard From Hong Kong: 48 Hours With Rare Vintage’s Juliana Cairone

05:02 PM
Rare Vintage owner Juliana Cairone (pictured) recently jetted off to Hong Kong to curate an...

Designer update

First Look: The YSL Manifesto Tote

04:02 PM

Q&A

What Made Balenciaga Balenciaga, And Other Intricacies of Spanish Fashion

02:02 PM

more from the style file blog ›