Mover & Shaper
Christian Dior forever changed fashion by putting his name on everything from peplums to perfumes
By James Scully
Fall 2005 Style & Design
When it comes to fashion power brokers, Christian Dior had it all over
Karl Lagerfeld and Tom Ford. After all, Dior was the one who set the
model for merger mania, signing up fragrance licenses and lingerie lines
long before anyone else even thought of lipstick as a vehicle for fame.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of Dior's birth. His interest in
fashion dates to 1919, when a fortune teller told him, "Women are lucky
for you, and through them you will achieve success." After dabbling in
the art world and serving in the military, Dior went to work for
couturiers Robert Piguet and, later, Lucien Lelong. Through a family
connection, he hooked up with textile magnate Marcel Boussac, who was
looking for a designer to resuscitate the house of Philippe et Gaston.
Dior accepted, on the condition that the name on the door be changed to
Christian Dior.
On Feb. 12, 1947, Dior rewrote fashion history, creating a suit with a
corset jacket padded at the hips to form a peplum. Dubbed the New Look,
the suit defined the silhouette of a generation. According to fashion
historian Caroline Rennolds Milbank, Maison Dior at 30 Avenue Montaigne
became the biggest tourist attraction in Paris after the Eiffel Tower.
The New York Times called the company the "General Motors of Haute
Couture"—an empire selling everything from furs and shoes to jewelry
and fragrance. But in 1957, shortly after his firm's 10th anniversary,
Dior died suddenly of a heart attack. Before his death, Dior made two
hires—Pierre Cardin and Yves Saint Laurent—both of whom would
revolutionize fashion with their own marketing genius. Today John
Galliano continues to ensure that the legacy of fashion's first power
broker has a healthy future.
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