FASHION QUOTE CHRISTIAN DIOR

Dior looked for means to support himself and started to sell fashion sketches. He was discovered by Robert Piguet, who later hired him in his fashion house to design fashion collections. Robert Piguet was remembered as someone who trained Christian Dior and Hubert de Givenchy. And during Dior’s time with him, he worked alongside with Pierre Balmain. Dior left the fashion house of Robert Piguet for military service.

In 1942, Dior left the army and joined the fashion house of Lucien Lelong. He and Pierre Balmain were the primary designers. And during the World War II, as an employee of Lucien Lelong, he designed dresses for the wives of Nazi officers and French collaborators. During that time, to stay in business one would need to serve the Nazis. It also happened to other fashion designers like Jean Patou, Jeanne Lanvin and Nina Ricci. But Dior’s sister, Catherine Dior, was a member of the French Resistance, was captured by the Gestapo, and was imprisoned in the concentration camp until her liberation in 1945. In 1947, Dior named his debut fragrance Miss Dior to tribute to her.  

In 1946, instead of accepting a successful entrepreneur, Marcel Boussac, try to revive a Paris fashion house—Philippe et Gaston—he accepted his investment to found his own fashion house. Maison Dior was founded in 1946 and his first collection—Corolle—was presented on February 12, 1947.

Christian Dior, the brand was established in 1947 in the midst of the post-war ruin in France. Dior changed the fashion industry with new designs. He crated voluminous calf-length skirts, cream jackets and fitted waists.

Christine Dior refined the “New Look” in the skirt shape and waistline that led the high fashion since the late 1930s. His designs were more voluptuous than the boxy, fabric-conserving shapes of the WWII styles. The house employed Pierre Cardin for the first three years of its existence.

The “New Look” not only revolutionized women’s fashion, but it also revived Paris as the center of the fashion world after World War II. Dior also became a virtual arbiter of fashion for much of the following decades. His fashion inspired many women post-war, and regained their love for fashion.

Dior’s designs were known for its elegance, luxury, and a sense of fantasy. He was also known for the use of exquisite fabrics, the meticulous attention to the details and innovative silhouettes. 

His fashion lines made the statement as the following:

• the “Carolle” line in 1947;
• the Envol and Cyclone /Zigzag lines in 1948;
• the Trompe I’Oeil and Mid-Centurt lines in 1949;
• the Vertical and Oblique lines in 1950;
• the Naturelle/Princesse and Longue lines in 1951;
• the Sinueuse and Prolièe Lines in 1952;
• the Tulipe and Vivante lines in 1953;
• the Muguet/Lily of the Valley line and H-Line in 1954;
• the A-Line and Y-Line in 1955;
• the Flèche/Arrow and Aimant/Magnet lines in 1956;
• the Libre/Free and Fuseau/Spindle lines in 1957;
• the successor Yves Saint Laurent’s Trapeze line in 1958.

He was best known in the introduction of A-line, zig-zag-line, Y-line, H-line silhouette which is still important for today’s fashion and haute couture.

With Dior’s success in fashion, he also expanded into perfume, and most notably are the “Miss Dior” and “J’adore.”

His influence extended beyond fashion to art, film and culture. He is remembered as an icon and also a legend.  

One thing about Yves Saint Laurent that we have to mention, and when it was in 1955, 19-year-old Yves Saint Laurent became Dior’s design assistant. in 1957 Dior told Saint Laurent’s mother that he had chosen Saint Laurent as his successor at Dior. At that time she was confused as Dior was only 52.

It seemed that Dior knew about his sudden death was happening. It was on October 24, 1957 while he had the vacation in Montecatini, Italy and he was at a game of cards and Dior died of a sudden heart attack. By then he was only 52.

In his life he received many awards and honors, such as:

• Nominated for the 1955 Academy Award for Best Costume Design in black and white for the Terminal Station directed by Vittorio De Sica in 1953. It was a romantic drama starring Jennifer Jones, Montgomery Clift and Richard Beymer. In the United States it was released as Indiscretion of an American Wife.
• Nominated in 1967 for a British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) for Best British Costume for the Arabesque, an American comedy thriller spy film starring Gregory Peck and Sophia Loren,  directed by Stanley Donen in 1966.
• Nominated for the 11th César Awards in 1986 for the Best Costume Design (Meileurs costumes) for the 1985 film Bras de fer. It was a movie about two childhood friends, both in the English service, found themselves in love with the same woman.

I can’t help but to give more quotes by Christian Dior as the following:

“Black is the most slimming of all colors. It is the most flattering. You can wear black at any time. You can wear it at any age. You may wear it at any age. You may wear it for any occasion. I could write a book about black”.

“You can never take too much care in selecting shoes. Too many women think that because they are low down, shoes do not matter, but it is by her feet that you can judge whether a woman is elegant or not”.

“Zest is the secret of all beauty. There is no beauty that is attractive without zest”.

Today the Christian Dior brand remains one of the most prestigious and iconic luxury fashion houses in the world. It is now in the stable of LVMH.

Designers like John Galliano, Raf Simons, Maria Grazia Chiuri continue to churn out Dior’s aesthetic while maintaining the brand’s legacy of elegance and innovation. It continues to set trends with its runway shows and bring out couture collections and ready-to-wear lines.