Christian Dior

The New Look

Christian Dior was born January 21 1905, in Granville France, a seaside town on the coast of Normandy, probably my favorite designer of all time, iconic in the 50’s his clothing designs represented beauty and femininity…a dream to be able to own a vintage Dior also check out the movie Mrs Harris Gies To Paris..

When Dior was five years old the family moved to Paris, the family wanted Christian to be a diplomat but he was interested in art. To make money he sold his fashion sketches outside his house for 10 cents a piece about two dollars in 2022 !!

In 1923 he received money from his father in order to finance a small art gallery, where he sold art by the likes of Pablo Picasso, when the Great Depression hit three years later, Dior had to close the gallery and find other means of work to support himself …

Dior was employed by fashion designer Robert Piguet , Dior said later Robert Piguet taught him simplicity is the truest form of elegance, in 1937, Dior left Piguet when he had to join the military service, in 1942 Dior left the army and joined the fashion house of Lucien Lelong, where he was one of the primary designers during world war ll .. since Paris was occupied by the Nazis, Dior and Lelong had to design dresses for the wives of the Nazis and French collaborators in order to stay in business, as did other fashion houses that remained in business during the war including Jean Patou, Jeanne Lanvin, and Nina Ricci.

Diors sister Catherine 1917/2008 was a member of the French resistance, and was captured by the Gestapo and was sent to Ravensbrueck concentration camp, Dior fought tirelessly for her release, and she finally made it home at the end of the war in 1945, in 1947 Dior named his iconic debut fragrance as a tribute to he’s sister, Miss Dior which is still popular today.., For the remainder of Catherine’s life she worked with flowers, first as a flower trader in Paris, then as a flower farmer in Provence for the production of fragrance.

Christian Dior was known for being very superstitious and often consulted astrologers, and his collection frequently featured Talismanic symbols …

In 1946 Dior founded his fashion house, Diors debut collection included 90 garments the phrase, The New Look, was coined by Carmel Snow the editor and chief of Harper’s Bazaar. The New Look revolutionized.Women dresses, and reestablished Paris, as a center of fashion after World War ll and made Dior a virtual arbiter of fashion for much of the following decade. Dior helped women regain their love for fashion, each season he featured a new Dior line.

In 1955 19 -year-old Yves Saint Laurent became Diors design assistant, Saint Laurent was his successor after he passed away in 1957 while on vacation in Tuscany while playing a game of cards. He was survived by Jacques Benita a north African singer three decades his junior the last of many discreet male lovers.

Apple TV has a 10 part series called The New Look all about Christian Dior and his life during World War II and beyond…

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