Iconic Fashion Designers

Christian Dior 

Christian Dior is one of the biggest names in fashion.  He was an haute couture fashion designer who made me fall in love with the art of fashion. His classic looks and designs still live on and are loved by people all around the world.  Christian Dior was born in 1905 in a small coastal town Granville, Normandy.  He was the son of five other children.  He moved to Paris when he was five years old.  He grew up in a wealthy family with his parents working in the fertilizer manufacturer. They hoped that one day Dior would become a diplomat.  However, Dior was very artistically skill and sold his sketches on the street to make a little money.  Once Dior was older, he and a friend opened up an art gallery that his father bought for him.  There Dior continued his art journey and sold artwork from many artists including Picasso. 

In 1929, Dior’s brother and mother had passed away and his father had gone out of business.   This, unfortunately, made Dior shut down his art gallery which lead him to start a new job.  He began to work for a fashion designer, Robert Piguet.  Dior worked for this designer until he was called to be in the military.  After two years of military service, 1940-1942, he was no longer serving and he started to work for another fashion designer, Lucien Long.  He and Pierre Balmain worked together in making the designs for Long.  Around this time, Dior’s sister, Catherine, started working for the French Resistance.  She survived and was freed in 1945, after being captured and put into a concentration camp.  Dior, in 1947, named his first and one of his now best-selling fragrances after his sister, Miss Dior. 

                                V&A Fashion Exhibition-Christian Dior 

He created the house of Dior on December 16, 1946, on 30 Avenue Montaigne Paris. Dior’s exciting first collection was debuted on February 12, 1947, in Paris.  He had over 90 different designs.  This collection was quickly named “New Look,” because of how different the designs were compared to others of the time.  This phase was given to Dior's first collection by Harpers Bazaar.  His collection consisted of a cinched waist and full voluminous skirts.  This created a new modern look for women.  In the 1950s, Dior introduced new silhouettes including A-line, Y-line, and  H-line.  In the following years, Dior was considered one of the greatest designers of the time. He developed modern fashion across the world and will be forever known as one of the highest names in the fashion industry.