Christian Dior – a revolutionary in the world of fashion

The power of dreams is as great as the power of money. While one can argue which is more important – and whether a person’s success is also influenced by other, minor elements, one thing is certain – to get anywhere, one must take the first step.

Childhood

The story of Christian Dior begins on February 21, 1905 in Normandy, in the town of Granville. One might be tempted to say that, in many ways, luck accompanied him from birth. Surrounded by numerous siblings (he had two brothers and two sisters), born into the family of a wealthy fertilizer manufacturer he hit his first lucky draw. On top of that, he was gifted from the start with artistic talent, which he knew how to appreciate and wanted to use in his later years.

First difficulties

True to his passion, Dior wanted to attend art school, but his parents had always wanted him to become a diplomat, and he tied his education to this profession. At the Institute of Political Science in Paris, however, he doesn’t get a long-term berth, and a long-awaited compromise: learning musical composition, also falls through.

Therefore, in 1928 Dior’s father buys him an art gallery, which his son runs with a friend. During these years he has close contact with the works of Jean Cocteau or Pablo Picasso. Unfortunately, in the wave of the Great Depression, Dior’s family goes bankrupt and he himself has to close the gallery in 1931. However, using his experience, a year later he opens his second gallery with a partner.

A start in the world of fashion

In the following years, Dior sells single sketches to fashion houses, and the beginning of his proper career is considered to be 1938, when he starts working for designer Robert Piguet. It would seem that once he came into contact with real fashion, he would be unstoppable in his pursuit of his goal. Eventually, he makes his dreams come true and pursues them to the best of his ability. Unfortunately, warfare associated with the outbreak of World War II stands in his way. Christian Dior is sent to the army.

After completing his military service

Dior leaves the service in 1942 and immediately goes to Lucien Lelong’s fashion house, where he and other employees design dresses for both the wives of German Nazis and the wives of French collaborators. To no one’s surprise, however, as this was the only way to stay in business at the time. Those fashion houses that survived the war period have the same activity on the pages of their history.

In 1946, Dior is offered a collaboration by the well-known fashion house Phillipe et Gaston, but is already on its own. A year later, the world stands shocked in the face of his first collection.

Corolle and Huit – two lines of Christian Dior’s first collection

The fashion world can’t shake off its surprise and delight after Dior’s first show. Skirts sewn from a 20-foot diameter circle were even considered wasteful and outraged at the extravagance, given the postwar deficits. The earlier boxy dresses are replaced by flared mid-calf skirts and blazers that emphasize the narrow waist. The use of percale, the use of petticoats, the use of corsets make women stop wearing shapeless clothes and start looking feminine. The lines of a woman’s body are emphasized, and the clothes add lightness, airiness, delicacy to women.

Dior’s designer clothes are so innovative in their solutions that one Harper’s Bazaar editor refers to them as the “New Look” – a term that was picked up by the American press and still functions today as the name of that memorable fashion revolution.

Intense decade

It takes only ten years for Christian Dior’s adventure with the world of fashion and perfumes signed with his own name. In 1952, Dior dies, it is speculated, of a heart attack caused by choking or while playing cards. However, these are intense years of creative work that turn around the previous view of fashion and influence the following years and the work of many designers. It is a milestone in the art of fashion, now as obvious as other historical events. For could Dior not be there? Can you imagine what the world would look like today without his contribution to the art of design?

What was behind Dior’s success?

We are left to speculate whether and what helped Christian Dior to have such an unimaginable career and shake up the entire fashion world. Is talent alone enough? Had he been born into a poor family, had he listened to his family and become a diplomat, had he been severely injured in the war, had he not wanted to create his own brand. If he had finally hit the times of material scarcity with his collection… If, if, if.

However, one thing should be noted: if he had not taken the first step on his career path, if he had not trusted himself and his talent, if he had not tried – nothing would have happened. We are far from summaries of the type you can do anything. However, we acknowledge that the driving force behind any revolution is idea and action. If you don’t have the first and aren’t willing to introduce the second, the revolution won’t explode.