Advanced search

He grew up in Normandy. After finishing primary school, Dior moved with his parents to Paris, where he attended the Ecole de Sciences Politiques. After graduating from high school and training as a diplomat, Dior opened an art gallery in Paris in 1928, which quickly made a name for himself in the city's select art circles. Dior was also artistically active with numerous drawings and illustrations. From 1931 onwards, he created his first fashion creations in the form of hat sketches commissioned by the magazine "Le Figaro Illustré". In 1937, Dior expanded his field of activity to design the first women's models (costumes, coats, shoes). In 1938, Dior became a designer at "Piquet" and in 1940 he moved to "Lelong" as chief designer. After German troops invaded France in 1940, the designer fled to southern France from the occupiers until the end of the war in 1945.

With the financial help of a wealthy friend of the Boussac family, on December 16, 1946, he moved into a studio on Avenue Montaigne in Paris, where the flagship store of the Dior brand is still located today. His first collection was published on February 12, 1947. Shortly afterwards, Dior founded his own fashion house under the label "Christian Dior", which launched the perfume "Miss Dior" on the market that same year. He celebrated his greatest successes in the same year with his design of the "New Look" in America. The "New Look" term was coined by Carmel Snow, the editor-in-chief of "Harpers Bazaar" at the time. These creations consisted of feminine, figure-hugging dress tops with round shoulders and a wide, swinging skirt. Furthermore, Dior set completely new accents with color-coordinated accessories, such as a delicate hat and cane umbrella, which made him the groundbreaking couturier of his time. The "New Look" designs became popular under the name "Ligne Corolle" or "Bellflower Line".

After these successes in the USA, Dior founded "Christian Dior New York Inc." in 1949, which was also represented at ready-to-wear shows in Paris under this name. In the same year, 1949, the designer also presented his first fashion show in Hamburg. From 1947 to 1950 he employed Pierre Cardin as a tailor. In 1951 he introduced the "Dior" trademark for worldwide distribution of his production under license. Dior made the young Yves Saint Laurent his assistant in 1953. In 1955 Dior founded "Christian Dior London Ltd." into life. After the "New Look" a changed line appeared every season. The "Tulip Line" was created in 1953 to 1954, the "H Line" in 1954 to 1955, the "A Line" in the summer of 1955 and the "Arrow Line" in 1956 to 1957. In April 1957 he was the first fashion designer to appear on the cover of the US "Time Magazine". Dior was considered the most influential couturier in the world.

After a heart attack, Christian Dior died on October 24, 1957 in the Italian spa town of Montecatini at the age of just 52. Saint Laurent posthumously became Dior's successor as chief designer of the House of Dior in 1957.

Ruggero Leoncavallo was born on 23 April 1857 in Naples, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies [now Naples, Campania, Italy]. He was a writer and composer, known for Moonraker (1979), The Untouchables (1987) and To Rome with Love (2012). He was married to Berthe Rambaud. He died on 9 August 1919 in Montecatini Terme, Tuscany, Italy.