Dior
Brand
Dior, whose headquarters are located in Paris, is a French high-fashion clothing retailer which owns the major luxury company, Moët Hennessy • Louis Vuitton, also referred to as LVMH. Christian Dior Couture, a division of the House of Dior, designs and produces some of the world's most sought after haute couture, as well as luxury ready-to-wear fashion, menswear and accessories. Today, Dior operates over 150 boutiques. The House of Dior was established on December 16, 1946 at 30, Avenue Montaigne in Paris and was financially backed by businessman Marcel Boussac. On February 12, 1947, Dior launched his first Spring/Summer collection. It was presented in the salons of the company's headquarters. Originally, the two lines were named as "Corolla" and "Eight" but the new collection went down in fashion history as the "New Look" after Harper's Bazaar 's editor-in-chief Carmel Snow's exclamation, "It’s such a New Look!" In a rebellion to the post-war fabric restriction, Dior infamously used 20 yards of extravagant fabrics in his creations and in time the “New Look” became popular and influenced many in the fashion world while also putting the city of Paris back on the map in regards to being a fashionable city of the world. In 1947, Dior launched its first perfume Miss Dior, named after his sister, Catherine Dior. That same year Pierre Cardin was placed as head of the Dior workshop until 1950. In 1948, a New York City Christian Dior Parfums branch was established as well as a luxury ready-to-wear house in New York on the corner of 5th Avenue and 57th Street. It appeared as if the Dior company was growing quickly and successfully as a boutique opened in New York City in 1949. At the end of that year, Dior fashions made up 75% of Paris's fashion exports and 5% of France's total export revenue. General Manager Jacques Rouët created a licensing program that placed the now-renown name of "Christian Dior" on a variety of luxury goods in 1950 such as neckties hosiery, furs, hats, gloves, handbags, jewelry, lingerie, and scarves. Christian Dior exclusively designed Marlene Dietrich's dresses in the Alfred Hitchcock film Stage Fright in 1950 and the next year he released his first book, Je Suis Couturier (I am a Couturier). Although Dior was extremely popular in Europe, more than half the company’s revenue came from the United States at that time. By the mid-1950s, the House of Dior operated as a well-respected fashion empire as the first Dior boutique was established in 1954 at 9 Counduit Street. Christian Dior launched more highly successful fashion lines between the years of 1954 and 1957, although none were as successful as the first “New Look” line. Dior opened the Grande Boutique on the corner between Avenue Montaigne and Rue Francois 1er in 1955 as the first Dior lipstick was being released. By then, 100,000 garments had been sold at the time of the company's 10th anniversary in 1956. Christian Dior passed away on October 24, 1957 which left the House of Dior devastated. To bring the label back on its feet, Rouët promoted the 21 year-old Yves Saint Laurent as Artistic Director that year. Laurent had joined the House's family in 1955 after being picked out by the original designer himself for the position of the first ever and only head assistant. His new designs were as perfectly proportioned as Dior’s in the same fabrics but now were made to be softer, lighter and easier to wear. Saint Laurent was seen as a national hero and his creations became more bold and daring which lead to harsh criticism by many of the fashion world. When Laurent was called up to join the French army, Dior management raised no objection and he left after the completion of six Dior collections. Marc Bohan replaced Laurent in late 1960 and instilled his conservative style on the collections. Actress Elizabeth Taylor ordered twelve Dior dresses from Bohan's Spring/Summer 1961 while Bohan's assistant, Philippe Guibourgé, launched the first French ready-to-wear collection "Miss Dior" in 1967. Designed by Bohan, "Baby Dior" opened its first boutique in 1967 at 28 Avenue Montaigne. In 1968 Dior Parfums was sold to Moët-Hennessy due to Boussac's ailing textile company (the still-owner of Dior). Bohan then launched the first Christian Dior Homme clothing line in 1970. In 1973, the Christian Dior Ready-to-Wear Fur Collection was created. The first Dior watch, "Black Moon," was released in 1975. In 1978, the Boussac Group filed for bankruptcy and its assets (including those of Christian Dior) were purchased by the Willot Group under the permission of the Paris Trade Court. After the Willot Group plummeted into bankruptcy in 1981, Bernard Arnault and his investment group stepped up and purchased it for "one symbolic franc" in December of 1984. The next year Arnault became Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and Managing Director. Operations within the company changed for the better. In 1988, Arnault's Christian Dior S.A.'s took a 32% equity stake into the share capital of Moët-Hennessy • Louis Vuitton through its subsidiary Jacques Rober to create one of the most powerful leading luxury goods companies in the world, and was seen as a milestone merger by many. Italian-born Gianfranco Ferré replaced Marc Bohan as head designer in 1989 and lead in the design of Haute Couture, Haute Fourrure, Women’s Ready-to-Wear, Ready-to-Wear Furs and Women’s Accessories collections. Another collection of watches named "Bagheera," which were inspired by the round design of the "Black Moon" watches, were released in 1990. That same year when Arnault fired managing director Beatrice Bongbault in December, he took up the position until September 1991 when he placed former Bon Marché president Phillipe Vindry in the postion. Shortly thereafter, company-owned boutiques were opened in Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Cannes, and Waikiki, which held out the potential to increase direct sales and profit margins while maintaining high-profile locations. In 1995, the production of Dior Haute Couture was spun-off into a subsidiary named Christian Dior Couture. Two years later, CEO Arnault appointed British designer John Galliano to replace Gianfranco Ferré. Christian Dior Couture took up all 13 boutique franchises from Japan's Kanebo in 1997.[1] The Dior Spanish distributor was acquired in 1998 in an effort to enforce its new policy of strict Dior franchises and licensed retail networks. In May 1998, another Dior boutique was opened in Paris. During the same year, Victoire de Castellane became the designer of Dior Fine Jewelry and the first Dior Fine Jewelry boutique was opened in New York City. In October of 1999 Galliano released the Dior Spring/Summer 2000 ready-to-wear fashion show debuting the new Saddle bag. 2000 proved to be a busy year for the company as Dior's watch partner Bemedom joined the LVMH group and Dior Homme designer Patrick Lavoix was replaced with Hedi Slimane. Additionally, the unique "Malice" watch, which featured bracelets made of "CD" links, was released in 2000 and became a best selling accessory. In 2001, the Dior Homme boutique on 30 Avenue Montaigne reopened with a new "contemporary masculine concept" instilled by its designer Mr. Hedi Silmane. Dior opened the first Dior Homme boutique in Milan on February 20, 2002. By 2002, 130 locations were in full operation. A second flagship boutique from Christian Dior was opened in the upscale Ginza shopping district of Tokyo in 2004. Christian Dior did not just grow in terms of their luxury goods and clothing but also in terms of fragrances as well. After the launch of their first perfume in 1947, the company then went on to release more than ten fragrances for both males and females such as “Diorling” in 1963, “Diorella” in 1972, and “Jules” in 1980. Most recently, the perfume “J’adore” was released in 1999 with Charlize Theron as the face for the campaign. In 2005, "Miss Dior Chérie" perfume and the "Dior Homme" fragrance were released and grew in popularity with many. Galliano began to release his own Dior watches in 2001, beginning with the "Chris 47 Aluminum" line, marking a new era in Dior watch design which grew in popularity among many. By 2005, Galliano had released his "Dior Christal" watches which contained steel and blue sapphires. In 2006, the Dior watch booth was dedicated to the Dior Canework. This pattern was made by designer Christian Dior and based on the Napoleon III chairs used in his fashion shows. In 2007, Kris Van Assche became the new artistic director of Dior Homme and led the company into new realms of fashion. To this day, Dior continues to grow and is constantly featured in high-fashion magazines.
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