Christian Dior (January 21, 1905 – October 23, 1957), was an influential French fashion designer, probably best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses Dior. He was born in Granville, Normandy, a seaside town off the coast of France. Dior flagship boutiques are found in Paris, Milan, Rome, London, New York, Beverly Hills, Tokyo, Osaka, Hong Kong, Boston, Honolulu, San Francisco, São Paulo, Seoul, Madrid, Miami, Barcelona, New Delhi, and Shanghai. is the 21st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see 1905 (disambiguation). ... Granville is a commune of the Manche département, in France. ... Capital Caen Land area¹ 17,589 km² Regional President Philippe Duron (PS) (since 2004) Population  - Jan. ... is the 296th day of the year (297th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar). ... Montecatini is the name of several locations in Tuscany, Italy. ... For other uses, see Tuscany (disambiguation). ... is the 21st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see 1905 (disambiguation). ... is the 296th day of the year (297th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar). ... Brief introduction on the history of fashion design and designers Fashion design is the art dedicated to the creation of wearing apparel and lifestyle. ... Dior retail store in Ginza, Tokyo. ... This article is about the capital of France. ... For other uses, see Milan (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Rome (disambiguation). ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... This article is about the state. ... For other uses, see: Beverly Hills (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Tokyo (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Osaka (disambiguation). ... Nickname: City on the Hill, Beantown, The Hub (of the Universe)1, Athens of America, The Cradle of Revolution, Puritan City, Americas Walking City Location in Massachusetts, USA Counties Suffolk County Mayor Thomas M. Menino(D) Area    - City 232. ... Honolulu as seen from the International Space Station Honolulu is the largest city and the capital of the U.S. state of Hawai‘i. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... This article is about the city. ... Short name Statistics Location map Map of location of Seoul. ... This article is about the Spanish capital. ... This article is about the city in Florida. ... Location Coordinates : Time Zone : CET (GMT +1) - summer: CEST (GMT +2) General information Native name Barcelona (Catalan) Spanish name Barcelona Nickname Ciutat Comtal (City of Counts) Postal code 08001–08080 Area code 34 (Spain) + 93 (Barcelona) Website http://www. ... , This article is about the capital city of India. ... For other uses, see Shanghai (disambiguation). ...

Early life

Acceding to his parents' wishes, Dior attended the École des Sciences Politiques from 1920 to 1925. The family, Safari, whose fortune was derived from the manufacture of fertilizer, had hopes he would become a diplomat, but Dior only wished to be involved in the arts. After leaving school he received money from his father so that in 1928 he could open a small art gallery, where he sold art by the likes of Pablo Picasso and Max Jacob. After a family financial disaster that resulted in his father losing his business, Dior was forced to close the gallery. From 1938 he worked with Robert Piguet and later joined the fashion house where he and Pierre Balmain were the primary designers. In 1945 he went into business for himself, backed by Marcel Boussac, the cotton-fabric magnate. Picasso redirects here. ... In 1915, Max Jacob and Pablo Picasso Max Jacob (July 12, 1876 – March 5, 1944) was a French poet, painter, writer, and critic. ... Pierre Balmain and Ruth Ford, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1947 Pierre Alexandre Claudius Balmain (May 18, 1914-June 29, 1982) was French fashion designer. ... Marcel Boussac April 17, 1889 – March 21, 1980) was a French entrepreneur best known for his ownership of the Maison Dior and one of the most successful thoroughbred race horse breeding farms in European history. ...

The "New Look"

The actual name of the line was corolle (French language|French for "Petal#Corolla|corolla" or, roughly, "petal"), but the phrase "New Look" was coined by Carmel Snow, the powerful editor-in-chief of Harper's Bazaar. Dior's designs were more voluptuous than the boxy, fabric-conserving shapes of the recent World War II styles, influenced by the rations on fabric.^[1] He was a master at creating shapes and silhouettes; Dior is quoted as saying "I have designed flower women." His look employed fabrics lined predominantly with percale, boned, bustier-style bodices, hip padding, wasp-waisted corsets and petticoats that made his dresses flare out from the waist, giving his models a very curvaceous form. The hem of the skirt was very flattering on the calves and ankles, creating a beautiful silhouette. Initially, women protested because his designs covered up their legs, which they had been unused to because of the previous limitations on fabric. There was also some backlash to Dior's designs form due to the amount of fabrics used in a single dress or suit--during one photo shoot in a Paris market, the models were attacked by female vendors over the profligacy of their dresses--but opposition ceased as the wartime shortages ended. The New Look revolutionized women's dress and reestablished Paris as the center of the fashion world after World War II Percale refers to a closely woven fabric often used for bed linens. ... For other uses, see New Look (disambiguation). ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

Personal life

Dior died at the health spa town Montecatini, Italy. Some reports say that he died of a heart attack after choking on a fish bone.^[2] Time magazine's obituary stated that he died of a heart attack after playing a game of cards.^[3] However, the Paris socialite and Dior acquaintance Alexis von Rosenberg, Baron de Rédé stated in his memoirs that contemporary rumor had it that the fashion designer succumbed to a heart attack after a strenuous sexual encounter. Montecatini is the name of several locations in Tuscany, Italy. ... Alexis von Rosenberg, 2nd Baron de Rédé (4 February 1922 – 8 July 2004) was a prominent aristocratic aesthete, collector of French eighteenth-century furnishings and decorative arts,[1] and socialite both in European circles and in New York. ...

As Cathy Horyn wrote in The New York Times about the designer, "Many men had slept with Dior, but few had wanted to become his lover." Horyn quotes Francine du Plessix Gray as saying that "there is the myth that his boyfriends only slept once with Dior because he was plain and not that sexually appealing."^[4] His companion at the time of his death was the Algerian-born singer Jacques Benita (born 1930).^[5] In the early 1950s his companion was Jacques Tiffeau (1929-1988), a hustler who eventually became a fashion designer and winner of a Coty Award in 1960.^[4] The Coty Award is the highest praise that can be awarded in fashion and is often referred to as the Oscars of the fashion world. ...

In popular culture

In 2003, Christian Dior Company donated to the Aaliyah Memorial Fund. In 2006, singer Morrissey released a song titled "Christian Dior" as a b-side to the single "In the Future When All's Well." The song uses Dior's life as a comparison to the songwriter's life, where he seems to believe both have been wasted perfecting a single thing (Dior with fashion, Morrissey with music) and ignored all the good things life had to offer. For other uses, see Aliyah (disambiguation). ...

References

TIME redirects here. ... The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ... The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ...

External links

• Christian Dior Official Website
• Christian Dior Biography
• Sewing patterns by Christian Dior
• 'Bar' Suit and Hat. Victoria and Albert Museum. Retrieved on 2007-11-11.
• Zémire evening ensemble. Victoria and Albert Museum. Retrieved on 2007-11-13.
• Photos of Dior and Samples of New Look Fashion
• Interactive timeline of couture houses and couturier biographies. Victoria and Albert Museum.