Here is the story of the luxury brand DIOR :
History & Date of creation :
Created in 1946 by Marcel Boussac, the Christian Dior Couture subsidiary, labeled "haute couture" owes its name to the great couturier, Christian Dior. Expanded over the years to the cosmetics, perfume, watchmaking and jewelry, leather goods and wine sectors, it has become one of the most important companies in the luxury world.
After the sudden death of Christian Dior in 1957, Yves Saint Laurent, who had joined Christian Dior in 1955, took over the artistic direction of the Parisian house under the direction of the couturier. It was alongside Raymonde Zehnacker, Marguerite Carré, Mitzah Bricard, and Suzanne Luling that they would continue to build the brand.
Since 2017, the subsidiary has been an integral part of the LVMH group.
Iconic ranges & pieces :
It was in 1947 that the brand's first haute couture show was born. Thanks to the techniques of the brand's first tailor, Pierre Cardin, the collection of this first emblematic fashion show put forward a brand new look on the female silhouette: cinched waist, high and round chest, covered legs... Which will give birth to the iconic piece of the summer 1947 that received the Oscar of the house Neiman Marcus: the Bar Suit. This is the influence of the New Look.
Between 1950 and 1953, his collections take a new turn with a style highlighting the lengths, a little marked waist and curves less voluptuous.
In 1954, this trend of absence of curves is accentuated and gives birth to the H collection.
These are three major periods that have marked the history of the brand's collections, whose founder quickly saw the growth of this market, especially in the United States.
In parallel to the launch of his haute couture collections, Christian Dior developed his perfume company, seen as an obvious choice: "it is as important for a woman to have a subtle perfume as elegant clothes". It is thus directly in 1947 that the first fragrance, Miss Dior, is born.
Very quickly, Christian Dior multiplied his actions in order to make himself known and known all over the world: the opening of Christian Dior New York Inc, public relations offices. He organized fashion shows all over the world and became the designer for many stars of his time: Marlene Dietrich, Liz Taylor, Ava Gardner and Marilyn Monroe. He was also the first to set up the licensing system, allowing manufacturers of accessories to brand their products with his name.
All his actions allowed him, in only 11 years, to become a figure of the radiant entrepreneur in the world of luxury, all over the world and thus to sell more than one hundred thousand dresses in his 160 stores around the world.
The brand also owes its success to the diversity of its products and the creativity of its designers.
The House of Christian Dior has become a pioneer in the luxury market and its codes: by its creations highlighting excess, quality, passion, but also innovation, culture, dreams and artistic sensitivity.
Techniques used & iconic pieces :
- The Dior Caro Bag: In homage to Christian Dior's sister Catherine, who was fondly referred to as "Caro," the Dior Caro bag is adorned with the iconic cane pattern. After meticulous cutting of the calf leather pieces, the essential quilting step alone requires 18,700 stitches to reproduce the subtle geometric lines of the cane. A delicate golden "Christian Dior" seal is affixed before the bag, sewn inside out, is turned over. Next come the metal accessories, adorned with the precious "CD" signature, from the links of the chain to the clasp.
- Thanks to a dichroic treatment, testifying to the innovative know-how of the workshops, the three reinvented bags are adorned with fascinating pearlescent, metallic or iridescent effects. The hypnotic motifs reinterpreting these canvases come to life with sparkling reflections through magnetic and surprising light effects. Each of these exceptional pieces is signed with a legend, representing the work in question, in order to highlight their creative source.
- Gisela Colon: Designed with cutting-edge technology, her works are clad in innovative materials used in the aerospace industry, offering holographic reflections that transform with the light. Named Stardust and Amazonia, their hypnotic colors symbolize the interstellar magic and enchanting mysteries of the world. These "bags of the future", as the artist defines them, combine the enchanting spirits of the Milky Way and nature, in homage to Christian Dior's passion for the divinatory arts and the constellations.
- Mai-Thu Perret, favors raw and artisanal materials such as ceramics, embroidery or rattan. A way of reconsidering, through these techniques often judged as merely decorative, the place of women in Western art. Fascinated by imaginary languages, she has created a mysterious alphabet, composed of abstract signs, inspired by an educational method applied in German kindergartens in the 19th century.
- Influenced by the cultural identity of South Africa, the country where he was born and where he still lives, Chris Soal questions the close and complex relationships between urban life, intimate environment and ecology. His creative process, which diverts salvaged materials, reflects his sensitivity to textures, forms and light. The artist creates captivating sculptures entirely composed of everyday objects whose ephemeral and functional nature is transformed into a perennial work. The iconic bag is thus covered with folded bottle caps, signed "Dior", suggesting cowries, unfolding in bewitching colors. As an ode to its artistic signature, the "o" charm takes the form of an elegant bottle opener. Another version is dressed in hand-worked, painted and embroidered toothpicks, an unprecedented expression of the infinite skill of small hands.
- The Dior Bobby bag: Cut out with the help of patterns, the pieces are then assembled and sewn one by one. The signature "30 Montaigne" is embossed in a tone-on-tone relief and sublimated by hand
- Toile de Jouy: storage boxes, paper trays, document holders, jars. Toile de Jouy is the iconic code that covered the walls of the first Dior shop.