Dior

Christian Dior was founded by French fashion designer Christian Dior in 1946. It mainly deals in fashion, leather goods, jewelry, watches, perfumes, cosmetics, etc. It is currently affiliated to LVMH, the world's largest luxury group .

· Brand History ·

Christian Dior (1905-1957) was born in Normandy, France . In his early years, he followed his parents' wishes and enrolled in the Paris Institute of Political Studies , but he always had an interest in art. After graduation, he opened an art gallery, but it went bankrupt due to a lack of funds during the Great Depression. At the age of 33, he entered Robert Piguet's studio as a fashion plate maker , and three years later joined Lucien Lelong's fashion brand , thus entering the fashion design industry.

In the mid-1940s, Christian Dior decided to create his own fashion brand, with funds provided by industrialist Marcel Boussac. The two met through a mutual friend, and Boussac once invited Christian to take over as creative director of Philippe et Gaston, but was rejected by the other party. Because of his appreciation of his design talent, Boussac finally agreed to fund Christian Dior to create his own brand .


In December 1946, Christian Dior opened his first fashion store at 30 Avenue Montaigne in Paris, France . In February of the following year, he held his first haute couture fashion show and released the Corolle series and the EN 8 series known as the "New Look" . In March of the same year, the Christian Dior Parfums perfume department was officially established and the first women's perfume "Miss Dior" was released .

In the late 1940s, Dior began to expand into overseas markets. In 1948, it held its first overseas couture fashion show in Sydney, Australia , and opened its first boutique on Fifth Avenue in New York, USA . With the introduction of the concept of licensing, Dior gradually established a fashion empire covering the world.

Since its establishment, the Dior brand has been favored by European aristocrats and American Hollywood movie stars, such as Princess Margaret of the United Kingdom . On August 21, 1951, Princess Margaret wore a dress designed by Christian Dior to celebrate her 21st birthday; a month later, she visited the Dior headquarters in Paris accompanied by the designer. In order to pay tribute to Princess Margaret, the Christian Dior brand has held fashion shows twice at Blenheim Palace in the United Kingdom .

In 1957, Christian Dior became the first French fashion designer to appear on the cover of Time magazine . On October 24 of the same year, he died of a heart attack, and his assistant Yves Saint Laurent took over as creative director . After Yves Saint Laurent was drafted into the army, Marc Bohan took over as creative director in 1960.

In the 1960s, Dior continued to expand its business and released new series such as "Miss Dior" women's ready-to-wear and "Baby Dior" children's clothing. At the same time, Dior also experienced a series of important changes: Dior Parfums was acquired by Moët Hennessy, and Dior Cosmetics and Dior Homme were born.

By the end of the 1970s, Dior continued to accumulate popularity and attracted more European royal customers. The wedding ceremony (1959) and coronation ceremony (1967) of Queen Farah Pahlavi of Iran , the wedding of Queen Silvia of Sweden (1976) and the wedding of Princess Diana of the United Kingdom (1980) have all become important occasions for Dior dresses to be displayed.

As the economic situation changed in the second half of the 20th century, Dior's business structure also changed. In 1978, the Marcel Boussac Group, to which Dior belonged, went bankrupt, and the entire company was acquired by the Willot Group. Three years later, the Willot Group went bankrupt, and the company was taken over by an investor group led by Bernard Arnault in 1984, which is now the LVMH Group .

In 1989, LVMH Group appointed Italian fashion designer Gianfranco Ferré as artistic director of the women's collection, and six years later, the "Lady Dior" handbag was launched. Originally named "Chouchou ", this handbag was designed by Gianfranco Ferré . The bag is covered with Dior's iconic pattern - "Cannage" cane check stitching decoration, and the "DIOR" letter pendant is hung on the handle. French First Lady Bernadette Chirac gave it as a gift to Princess Diana of the United Kingdom , who appeared in public with this bag many times. In order to pay tribute to Princess Diana, this handbag was officially renamed "Lady Dior" in 1996 .

After Gianfranco Ferré left, British fashion designer John Galliano was appointed as the new artistic director of the women's collection in 1996. Three years later, he launched the "Saddle bag" , which once again set off a Dior handbag craze. Many years later, the Saddle bag was discontinued until Dior's current artistic director Maria Grazia Chiuri re-launched the Saddle bag series in 2018 .

After entering the 21st century, Christian Dior has held two commemorative events to review the brand's history. In 2007, Christian Dior held a haute couture fashion show at the Palace of Versailles in Paris, France, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the brand's founding. Ten years later, Christian Dior held a 70th anniversary exhibition in Paris, "Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams" , presenting classic design works since 1947.

Christian Dior is now divided into perfume department, cosmetics department, men's wear department and fashion department, among which haute couture, ready-to-wear, bags and shoes are all products of the fashion department. In 2017, LVMH Group acquired Dior's fashion department for 6.5 billion euros, becoming one of the most watched acquisitions in the industry in recent years. Currently, all brands under Christian Dior are managed by LVMH Group.

· Chronology of major events ·