Christian Dior was born on January 21st 1905 in Northern France. Although he was raised in a wealthy family, his fashion career had a modest beginning.
After his studies in political science, his father gave him some money to open a small art gallery, as he was always interested in art especially involved fashion. The store consisted of works by famous artists such as George Braque, Pablo Picasso, Jean Cocteau and Max Jacob. A year later, in 1931, the gallery was no longer open because of the passing away of his both older brother, mother and the failure of his father's business.
Despite this dismay, Dior's fashion career took off in 1935, when he began to sell his fashion sketches. In early 1940's, whilst working with a fashion designer Robert Piguet, he was given the opportunity by the French military service to dress up the Nazi wives during the war. This step resulted as a breakthrough in his career as he succeeded in revolutionizing his clothing worldwide.
Dior sketching
During the 1950's, Dior was the most popular fashion designer in the world. He was known for making women glamorous by focusing on their femininity. Moreover, he was famous for dressing the well-known actress Grace Kelly. He also designed for other famous icons, such as Sophia Lauren and Nina Ricci.
Grace Kelly at age of 26 wearing an outfit by Christian Dior.
As well as being a brilliant fashion designer, Dior was also a successful businessman. He created a fashion empire, which is still evident to the present day. This empire is a result of Dior's unlimited imagination and creativity, where he supplies luxurious clothes and shoes, both for males and females, perfumes, cosmetics and accessories.
Dior Haute Couture Fall Winter 2013/2014
At the age of 52, Christian Dior died of a heart attack in Italy. Thousands of people gathered for his funeral in Paris. Up until the time passed away, Dior was earning approximately $20 million per year. His assistant Yves Saint Laurent took the leadership of the company. Nowadays, Dior's house is a museum in Paris known as "Les Rhumbs".
Dior's front house named as "Les Rhumbs"
Throughout these 60 years of haute couture, Christian Dior and his apprentice Yves Saint Laurent transformed the face of fashion with the new look in 20th century.
These pictures below are taken from the exhibition of Dior's house.
Synopsis. 2014. Christian Dior Biography. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/christian-dior-9275315. [Accessed 08 March 14].
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