Christian Dior invented the little black dress. Or did he? Whether he did or he didn’t, he made it look good! Although Christian Dior pushed fashion during the 1940’s and 1950’s, his vision for style and fashion still lives on. His clothing and accessories are just as big today as they were fifty years ago. Today Christian Dior handbags reign supreme in the fashion world. There is also a wide range of popular Christian Dior perfume.
An influential French fashion designer, Christian Dior is best known as being the founder of one of the world’s top fashion houses, also called Christian Dior. Born in the seaside town of Granville, Normandy, Dior attended da Ecole des Sciences Politiques from 1920 to 1925.
From a wealthy family who manufactured fertilizer, Dior only wanted to be involved in the arts, mostly fashion and sketching. After Dior left the army in 1942, he joined the fashion house of Lucien Lelong where he and Pierre Balmain were the primary designers. In October 1946 Dior founded his own fashion house, backed by Marcel Boussac, the cotton fabric magnate.
So now, the Christian Dior handbag and Christian Dior fragrance collection tops the list of designer name clothing and accessories. Major upscale retailers like Macy’s and Bergdorf Goodman keep their Christian Dior fragrance collections up to date. Offering Dior clothing and accessories has become a mainstay for many upscale retailers. And that says that Christian Dior is still relevant.
There are knock off Christian Dior bags and Christian Dior perfume, but nothing compares to having the real thing. Christian Dior items are pricey, but to wear the name and fashion of Dior is well worth the money. Christian Dior, SA, located in Paris, is the clothing retailer which owns the major luxury company, Mȫet Hennessy and Louis Vuitton.
Christian Dior Perfume was established between 1947 to 1948. The first perfume was Miss Dior, launched in 1947. Dior revolutionized the perfumery industry with the launch of the highly popular Miss Dior parfum, which was named after Catherine Dior, Dior’s sister. Christian Dior Ltd owned 25%, manager of Coty perfumes held 35%, and Boussac owned 40% of the perfume business. It was headed by Serge Heftler Louiche. This led to expansion into Christian Dior cosmetics.
Expansion out of France began by the end of 1949 with the opening of a Christian Dior boutique in New York City. By the end of that year, Dior fashions made up 75% of Paris’s fashion exports and 5% of France’s total export revenue. The first Christian Dior shoes line was launched in 1953 with the aid of Roger Vivier. The company operated firmly established locations in Mexico, Cuba, Canada and Italy by the end of 1953. As popularity of Dior handbag styles grew, so did counterfeiting. The illegal business was supported by women who could not afford the luxury goods.
By the mid-1950’s, the House of Dior operated a well respected fashion empire. The first Dior boutique was established in 1954 at 9 Counduit Street. Dior launched more highly successful fashion lines between the years of 1954 and 1957. However, none came as close to the profound effect of the New Look. Dior opened the Grande Boutique on the corner between Avenue Montaigne and Rue Francois in 1955. The first Dior lipstick was released in 1955 opening the way for Christian Dior cosmetics.
Monsieur Dior appeared on the cover of Time magazine March 1957. He died soon afterwards from a heart attack in 1957. The name Dior though, lives on in the fashion world and continues to represent high fashion and style no matter what you wear by Dior. Viva Dior!
