The fashion house DIOR was founded by the eponymous designer Christian Dior in 1947 in Paris. As early as 1937 whilst Dior was still working for Robert Piguet, he caused a sensation with his dress Café anglais. Ten years later he presented his first collection in the Avenue Montaigne in Paris - which was already an important center of the French fashion world.
His models, which he designed in collaboration with tailor Pierre Cardin, differed greatly from designs of other couturiers at the time, as their figure accentuating cuts created a slim waist thereby accentuating the upper body and hips. Numerous layers of fabric ensured skirts with enormous volume. With this "New Look," as it was titled by the press, Christian Dior at the age of only 42 won worldwide fame for his first presentation and became known in the United States.
A few years after this historic collection, Dior advanced to pioneer in the industry by being the first couturier producing accessories for men and women as well as jewelry and perfumes as a licensor. A business model that generated the most revenue for many fashion houses up until the present.
After Dior's death in 1957 his 21-year-old assistant Yves Saint Laurent took over the creative direction of the house DIOR and modernized it from scratch. After Saint Laurent’s retirement due to health problems, Marc Bohan followed as the creative director and guided the fortunes of the House DIOR for 30 years. Under Bohan’s direction the following lines were introduced: the first pret-à-porter, a collection for men and BABY DIOR, a line for children.
In 1984 the empire DIOR went into bankruptcy. Bernard Arnault took over and employed Italian Gianfranco Ferré as the creative director. In 1997 John Galliano followed, who was known for constantly causing a great stir with the press due to his eccentric, enigmatic personality and his extraordinary creations. After Galliano was forced to leave the company in early 2011, his assistant Bill Gaytten, in cooperation with Suzanna Venegas took over the creative direction of DIOR temporarily.
From 2012 and up to the last show in July this year, Belgian Raf Simons has been responsible for the pret-à-porter and haute couture lines for men.
Since its inception the name DIOR represents French luxury from Paris par excellence: Elegant fashion, accessories, seductive scents, haute joaillerie and horlogerie.
Apart from haute couture and pret-à-porter lines, DIOR offers exclusive jewelry and watches, cosmetics, skincare, and perfumes for women. The classics include the bags 'Lady Dior', 'Diorama' and 'Diorissimo', the eyewear model 'So Real', the watches 'La D de Dior' and 'Chiffre Rouge' and the scents 'Miss Dior', 'J' Adore' and 'Dior Addict'.