Classic, elegant, and stunning, Christian Dior’s fashion label exemplifies and defines high style.

Christian Dior was born January 21, 1905, in Normandy, France. As far from fashion as one could imagine, Dior’s family made their money in the fertilizer industry. Obtaining his education from Ecole des Sciences Politiques for three years, from 1923 through 1926, Dior’s parents harbored hope he would become a diplomat. However, Dior knew from an early age this was not his calling.

Always drawn to the arts, in 1928 Dior left school to open an art gallery. He left with his father’s money but not his wholehearted blessing. Dior’s father allowed him the funds but explicitly forbade him using the family name in relation to the gallery.

Dior’s gallery, however, was not an amateur endeavor by any means. Rather, he displayed works by artists such as Max Jacob and Pablo Picasso. Eventually, Dior closed the gallery and began pursuing fashion in a more direct manner. He drew numerous sketches for couture houses, and worked with entrepreneur Marcel Boussac as well as Robert Piquet.

Boussac, who had already made a small fortune in fabrics, was particularly interested in Dior’s predilection for extravagant and often layered fabric. By 1947, Dior had finalized and premiered his first fashion collection. Just two years later, Christian Dior New York opened, and throughout his life remained the primary fashion house.

Dior’s new look focused on creating a curvaceous and beautiful silhouette for women, and it initially garnered flack for the amount of fabric it was wasting in a world rife with World War II rations. However, with the end of the war, the critics faded and the fans spoke up. Dior had revolutionized women’s fashion and almost single-handedly made Paris the fashion capital of the world, a trend and title that continues even today.

His couture houses were an immediate hit, receiving orders from Hollywood’s brightest such as Rita Hayworth. He even delivered a private screening of the newest collection to the British royal family, which at the time included King George V and princesses Elizabeth and Margaret (both of which were forbade to actually wear the clothing by their father).

Always with the company’s interests in mind, Dior knew he needed to diversify into other fashion arenas. To that end, he created a ready-to-wear fur line and a perfume called Miss Dior. Dior also insisted on the best assistants, including Pierre Cardin and Yves Saint Laurent who would go on to briefly head the company after Dior’s death.

During his life, Dior was inevitably drawn into the glamour and high life of Hollywood. It was no surprise then when Dior lent his designs to several films. He worked costume design for Ava Gardner in The Little Hut in 1957, Olivia de Havilland in Libel in 1959, Jean Simmons in The Grass is Greener in 1960, Ingrid Bergman in Goodbye Again in 1961, Sophia Loren in Ieri, Oggi, Domani in 1963, Julie Andrews in The Tamarind Seed in 1964, and many more.

On October 23, 1957, Dior choked and subsequently suffered a heart attack in Montecatini Terme, Pistoia, Italy, tragically ending his life.

The name Dior lives on, however. As much as when he was alive, it stands for the epitome of couture fashion and luxury.

YUDDY