Christian Dior. Photo by 投稿者によるスキャン. Wikimedia Commons

Top 10 Amazing Facts about Christian Dior


 

Christian Ernest Dior was a French fashion designer. He’s best known as the founder of one of the world’s top fashion houses, Christian Dior SE, which is now owned by parent company LVMH. His fashion houses are well-known throughout the world. 

Dior’s artistic abilities led to his employment. His designs for a number of well-known fashion icons were an effort to save the fashion industry during WWII. Post-war, he founded and established the Dior fashion house. His “New Look” collection revolutionizing women’s dress and helping to reestablish Paris as the fashion world’s center.

1. Christian Dior was born in France

Christian Dior ballgown with matching shrug. Photo from Wikimedia Commons

Christian Dior was born in France on 21st January 1905. Maurice Dior, his father, a wealthy fertilizer manufacturer, and his wife, formerly Madeleine Martin, had five children. Raymond (father of Françoise Dior), Jacqueline, Bernard, and Catherine Dior were his four siblings. The family moved to Paris when Christian was about five years old. Though, they still spent summers on the Normandy coast.

2. Dior’s family hoped he would become a diplomat

Dior’s family hoped he would become a diplomat. Though, Dior was an artist who wanted to be involved in the arts. To make money, he sold his fashion sketches for about ten cents each outside his house.

In 1928, Dior dropped out of school and received funding from his father to open a small art gallery. There he and a friend sold works by Pablo Picasso and others. Following the deaths of Dior’s mother and brother, as well as financial difficulties during the Great Depression, which resulted in his father losing control of the family business, the gallery was closed three years later.

3. Christian Dior experimented with anarchism

Christian Dior is further proof that, despite its undeserved reputation for superficiality, fashion is a highly politicized industry populated by people who are inquisitive and conscientious.

Dior briefly experimented with anarchism while at Sciences Po, even labeling himself as such. In contrast, he spent several months in the Soviet Union researching the sociopolitical effects of communism.

4. Christian Dior’s sibling influenced a famous fragrance

Miss Dior Chérie perfume. Photo by Natasha d.H. Wikimedia Commons

Christian’s sister Catherine served in the French Resistance against the Nazi occupation during World War II, in keeping with the Dior family’s proclivity for rebellion. She was eventually apprehended by the Gestapo and transferred to the Ravensbrück concentration camp.

There she remained until her liberation in 1945. Two years later, Dior named his debut fragrance Miss Dior in honor of his sibling’s heroism.

5. The Tyrant of Hemlines was the moniker given to him

The line of his first collection, Corolle, was presented on 12 February 1947. The phrase New Look was coined by Carmel Snow, the editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar. Despite the name, it was clearly inspired by Edwardian styles, and it simply refined and crystallized trends in skirt shape and waistline that had been burgeoning in high fashion since the late 1930s.

Women initially objected because his designs covered up their legs, which they were not used to due to fabric restrictions in the past. Some criticism directed at Dior’s designs stemmed from the amount of fabric used in a single dress or suit.

“Look how ridiculous these women are, wearing clothes by a man who doesn’t know women, never had one, and dreams of being one,” Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel said of the “New Look.” During a photo shoot in a Paris market, the models were attacked by female vendors for their frivolity, but the protests died down as the wartime shortages ended.

As a result, Dior earned a new moniker: The Tyrant of Hemlines.

6. He was a superstitious man

Dior’s superstitious nature grew with him. By the time he was regularly presenting collections, he felt compelled to name one garment in each show after his hometown of Granville.

At least one model would be required to carry a bouquet of white lilies. No couture show would ever begin without first consulting his tarot card reader.

7. Bath time was a creative hotspot for him

“Behind the vast Dior enterprises was always the plump, pink-cheeked master, who twice each year went into seclusion to create the newest designs,” according to his obituary in The New York Times in 1957.

And he spent a lot of time in the bathtub every year. His Empire tub of green marble lined with silvery metal and fitted with swan’s-head faucets. He soaked there, pondered a new line, and drew his ideas on scraps of paper.” Fabulous!

8. Christian Dior’s death remains a mystery

Sculpture of the face of Christian Dior. Photo by Wisi eu. Wikimedia Commons

Following his ardent love of bathing, Dior visited a spa in northern Italy in the month before his death for some much-needed R&R. During his stay, on October 24th, he had his third and final massive heart attack.

The official coroner’s statement stated that the attack was caused by unhealthy eating habits. However, there was much speculation that it was caused by the designer choking on a fish bone or an adrenaline rush while playing cards.

9. Yves Saint Laurent attended Christian Dior’s funeral 

Yves Saint Laurent. Photo by Edward Knapczyk. Wikimedia Commons

Over 2,500 people attended Christian Dior’s funeral. His family, friends, and the devoted clientele he had amassed over his illustrious career. Notably present was his successor, a 21-year-old Yves Saint Laurent. He had been working under Dior’s tutelage for two years prior to his death.

After the ceremony, LIFE Magazine photographed Saint Laurent standing alone. He  looked melancholy and pensive. Not only had he lost his mentor, but he was about to become the world’s youngest couturier.

10. Dior is mentioned in both contemporary film and literature

“I’m from the people!” They must adore me; so Christian Dior me, from head to toe,” Madonna sings in the 1996 musical Evita. Dior has frequently been referenced in contemporary culture, from Broadway numbers to lyrics written by Morrissey.

One of the most beautiful references comes from Haruki Murakami’s novel. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle: “I went to the bathroom and took out the bottle of Christian Dior cologne that had been given to Kumiko by someone… “I poured the entire contents into the sink slowly.”