The great French fashion designer is Christian Dior. Christian Dior - biography and personal life

Every time we pronounce the name Christian Dior, we mean style, sophistication and luxury of everything that this legendary brand with more than half a century of history produces - clothes, perfumes, cosmetics.

Even as a child, a gypsy woman predicted the fate of the future great couturier. She said that in the future he would be left without a livelihood, but women would bring him luck, and it was thanks to them that he would achieve success and become a wealthy man. Then 14-year-old Christian simply laughed in response to these words.

The skeptical teenager did not particularly believe in predictions, besides, his father was a wealthy entrepreneur, and Christian could not imagine what it would be like to be left completely without money. The boy's parents hoped that he would pursue a diplomatic career, ignoring his desire to become an artist. Christian had to go to the Paris School of Political Science.

But political science failed to discourage him from pursuing art. Dior and a friend open an art gallery and sell antiques. Christian moved in Parisian bohemia, and it seemed that there would be no end to his carefree existence. But everything changed overnight. In 1931, Christian lost his mother. The father was deceived by his partner and went bankrupt as a result. The art gallery also closed, Christian survived only with the help of his true friends.

Lack of money forced Christian Dior to return to his childhood hobby - drawing. He sketched several sketches of dresses and hats, which were bought by the Le Figaro newspaper. After receiving his first fee, it occurred to Dior that his childhood hobby could actually bring in money. He begins to collaborate with various magazines, creating clothing models for famous couturiers.

But true success awaited him after the end of the war. The textile magnate invited Dior to take on the position of artistic director of his fashion house to lift it out of the ruins it had fallen into during World War II. Christian agreed, but set a bold condition, which, however, was accepted - the fashion house received the name “House of Christian Dior”. From the very beginning, Dior knew the value of himself and his talent.

In the cold post-war winter of 1947, in Paris, where there was a shortage of basic coal and gasoline, there were constant problems with clean water and electricity, the premiere show of Christian Dior's collection called "New Look" took place. Wonderful exotic flowers bloomed on the catwalk, one after another fashion models in chic dresses came out. The spectators sat motionless, delighted with this celebration of life in post-war gray Paris. Christian Dior again reminded them that they are beautiful, gentle, and feminine.

The success of the show was incredible. Dior said that he painted women who looked like flowers. This was exactly what the fair half of humanity lacked at that time. Dior became an idol who brought back beauty and femininity. Thus the gypsy's prophecy came true - women contributed to the success of Christian Dior. The fashion designer remembered her words and became very superstitious, realizing that the prophecies were coming true. Now he did not take a single step without the advice of his personal fortuneteller, Madame Delahaye.

A few years later, Christian Dior's fashion house grew into a whole network of enterprises that employed more than 2,000 people. Dior recognized only handmade work, so in his workshops each item of clothing was created by the careful labor of the Fashion House workers. Dior did not want to make his enterprise just another production, churning out works of art in mass quantities, because such an approach deprived the latter of the actual opportunity to be called works of art. The great couturier treated dresses as living beings.

Having earned fame as an extravagant couturier, Christian Dior opens a perfume manufacturing company. He was firmly convinced that perfume was a continuation of the dress, an indispensable attribute of the finished toilet. The very first perfumes from Dior - Miss Dior, Diorama, Diorissimo, J"adore - became timeless classics and are still popular today.

In the perfume composition of Diorissimo perfume, released in 1956, the main note belongs to the lily of the valley, the mascot of the House of Dior. These perfumes were the first to contain notes of this flower.

The next step was the opening of a branch of the House of Dior, producing cosmetics, which were also intended to become part of the complete image of a stylish woman.

Since 1955, Dior began producing lipstick, since 1961 it began producing nail polish, and since 1969 Christian Dior has been producing cosmetics in series. The Dior brand has always set itself the goal of finding a harmonious combination of colors for all products included in one series. And here Dior could not deviate from its artistic taste. By creating new colors, Dior never repeats itself. Each time a new color scheme is chosen, but within its limits all colors combine perfectly and support each other.

The couturier worked tirelessly, and this affected his health. When he was about to undergo a course of treatment in Italy, he consulted with a personal fortuneteller, but even after receiving a warning, for the first time he did not listen to her advice. On October 24, 1957, Christian Dior died of a heart attack while in Italy.

After Dior's death, Yves Saint Laurent, a young designer who had joined the firm four years earlier, became the leading designer of the house. In 1960, Yves Saint Laurent was called to military service, which forced him to leave his post. He was replaced by Mark Boan, followed by Gianfranco Ferré in 1989. In October 1996, John Galliano took over as chief designer of the House of Christian Dior.

To date, Dior brand stores can be found in 43 countries, including Japan, China, Australia, Brazil and other countries.

His parents wanted him to be a diplomat, but he chose the path of an artist.

1920-25 Study at the School of Political Sciences (Ecole des Sciences Politique), in Paris. 1928 Opens a small art gallery in Paris. 1931 Creates sketches of hat styles for milliner Agnes and makes illustrations for a magazine Le Figaro Illustre.1938 Works with Robert Piguet.1942 Joins the design team of Lucien Lelong.1945 Works at the Fashion House of Marcel Boussac.1947 February 12 shows its first collection called Corolle line, which journalists from the USA dubbed “New Look”. The public is presented with a completely new, revolutionary female image with a narrow waist, emphasized by a high bust, rounded, neat shoulders and full hips. “We say goodbye to the war, its uniforms and strongly built military women,” Christian Dior wrote in his memoirs, recalling this collection. 1949 Founds the Christian Dior branch in New York. Receives a license to produce nylon stockings. 1950. Introduces the Vertical and Oblique lines. 1951. Creates a special department dedicated to promoting the House's products on the international market. Introduces the Oval and Longue lines. 1953 Founds Dior Delman, a department dedicated to the manufacture of custom shoes based on designs by Roger Vivier. 1954 Introduces the "Life-of-the-Valley" collection, in which he dominates White color. 1955 Opens a branch of the House in London. Launches the Bijoux line of costume jewelry, introducing collections A and Y.1956. Creates the Arrow, Aimant and H.1957 collections. Creates the Libre collection, based on the so-called vareuses (fishing jackets worn by fishermen). When a certain Yves Saint Laurent came to the House of Dior in 1955 ( Yves Saint Laurent), Dior quickly saw the talent of the newcomer and soon appointed him as his successor. A year after Dior’s death (1957, October 23 in Montecatini Terme, Italy), Saint Laurent’s first collection “Trapezoid” was received with triumph. The artistic direction of the House falls on the shoulders of Yves Saint Laurent. 1961 Marc Bohan becomes the artistic director of the House. 1970-80 The line is launched

Christian Dior did not become a great couturier right away. First, he went through a difficult path from a simple manager to a real artist, experienced several personal upheavals, and only then opened his own fashion house, which today is known throughout the world.

How did Dior live as a child?

It’s difficult to call Christian’s family poor. The boy was born second in the family. All the children of the Dior family spent their early childhood with a “golden spoon in their mouth.”

Christian's birth occurred on January 21, 1905. He was born in French Normandy. In total, the Dior family had five children. Father large family from year to year he became rich from the resale of fertilizers.

Christian's mother could afford not to work anywhere officially; she was engaged in the upbringing and initial education of her children.

Six years after Christian's appearance, his family moved with him to Paris. There, the head of the family bought several apartments and houses, thus investing the money received from the business.

After completing his studies with tutors, Christian, at the insistence of his father, enrolled in the Institute of Political Studies, but after studying for a year, he dropped out.

Cafes, restaurants, theaters, exhibitions and cinema - these were the areas where Dior’s true interests were then.

In 1928, a young man decides to study painting. Then the thought of his own gallery creeps into his head. Christian's father refused to help him in this matter. Young Dior does not despair, he continues to intensively search for a partner, and finds him. Jean Bonjac agrees to play the role of sponsor of the project.

Adult life and the path to fame

The gallery of two young partners began to bring good profit, because such authors as Picasso, Matisse and Derain exhibited there.

It would seem that everything was going just fine, but the 30s became a real test for Christian. The future fashion designer received his first blow when he learned that his brother was in a psychiatric hospital. The second blow was the death of his mother from cancer.

Christian's father was never able to recover from grief, started drinking and almost went broke. During this difficult period, Dior Jr. decided to go to Leningrad in order to somehow forget himself and not think about the troubles that befell his family.

When he returned to Paris, he decided to say goodbye to the gallery. He then set off again for the Spanish archipelago. There Christian again became interested in drawing and weaving. He even came up with quite a few sketches for carpets, but could not find sponsors to start a new business.

After returning home for the second time, Dior tried to work in an office and in a bank, but was unable to get a stable position anywhere..

Finding himself in dire financial straits, Christian sells several paintings from his collection, and his family sells off most of their property and moves to the provinces of France.

The young wanderer did not follow his family, but decided to stay in Paris. He settled with a good friend Jean Ozenn. The newly made friend was already not last person in the world of fashion. It was he who opened the door to the universe of fashionable designer clothing for Dior.

At that time, Christian again began to draw sketches of hats and dresses. His drawings were a great success. He managed to work with many famous couturiers, and was finally ready to open his own fashion house.

In 1946, Dior opened the first establishment where his name was on the sign. A year later, he presented a collection called “New Look” to the world public.

All critics, except American ones, liked the collection. Only they subsided when the whole world accepted Dior as a new trendsetter.

Christian's very first collection was created for women. Dior decided to contrast the ubiquitous ruffles with a loose fit and comfort. After the successful launch of the fashion line, he presented two collections a year to the public. Later he opened a perfume laboratory, as well as a shoe factory.

From simple but elegant clothes, the couturier moved on to working on costumes for cinema and theaters. Thanks to him, many films of that time were imbued with a special atmosphere of luxury and sophistication.

Personal life of Christian Dior

Like many creative figures, Christian Dior couldn't get enough ordinary love. Maybe that's why all his lovers were men. Dior was gay and did not hide his gay orientation.

The fashion designer's first strong love was his best man, Perrotino. A few years later, the couple broke up for unknown reasons.

For a long time in mature age Christian couldn't find his love. This continued until he met an African who worked as a model. Dior's chosen one was Jacques Benita.

The happy time for lovers did not last long. In 1957, at the peak of fame and happiness, Christian Dior passed away. He died due to heart problems at a resort in Tuscany.

The death of the fashion maestro occurred on October 24. Dior left no direct heirs and was never married, but his life's work continues to live on today. Many films have been made about Christian Dior, and his brand is still considered one of the best and most luxurious.

Christian Dior

A new look at a woman

In 1947, after the end of the most destructive war in history, women really wanted to remember that they could not only dig trenches, drive trucks, shoot sniper rifles and pull the wounded from the battlefield. They wanted to feel elegant, beautiful and desirable again, to gain a new look. And in France there was a plump, bald and no longer very young man with a shy smile who gave them this appearance. Just ten years later he died, but his name went down in history forever - as the name of the creator of the New Look style and the man who was the first to turn a fashion house into a gigantic international empire of beauty and luxury.

Christian Dior, born on January 21, 1905, spent his childhood in the small town of Granville in Normandy, right next to the English Channel - his gray-pink parental house stood right on the seashore. Dior always remembered his childhood years with warmth, as a happy and carefree time, and the color scheme of his father’s house much later became a signature feature of his fashion collections. Christian's parents, Maurice and Madeleine, were very wealthy bourgeois - his father owned a fertilizer plant. A curious irony of fate: the father’s enterprise irritated local residents with unpleasant odors, while the son’s enterprise, half a century later, charmed women all over the world with its exquisite scents Miss Dior, Diorama And Diorissimo.

Christian grew up as a dreamy, soft and inquisitive child. He, the only one of five children in the family, managed to find the key to the heart of his strict mother, who believed that manifestations of love and tenderness towards her own offspring were inappropriate and would only spoil them. She always treated Christian warmer than the others, most likely because it was he who was sincerely interested in the main business of her life - gardening and growing flowers. His love for flowers remained with him throughout his life; He especially loved lilies of the valley and often wore them in his buttonhole. And it is not surprising that, thinking about his first collection - the one that changed the world - he wanted the woman to look like a flower: “A delicately convex line of the shoulders; rounded chest line; a waist as flexible as a stem... and wide lines of hips, diverging downwards like the cup of a flower.”

In 1911, the Dior family moved to Paris, but continued to spend the entire summer in their native Granville. Their maternal grandmother lived with them for a long time, who instilled in little Christian an interest in everything supernatural, since she herself firmly believed in astrology and fortune telling. At the age of thirteen, Christian, who, disguised as a gypsy, was selling amulets at a local fair, was first told by an old fortune teller about the future: “You will experience poverty, but women will bring you good luck. You will earn a lot of money from them and will travel often.” This prediction later came true completely, and Christian remained a very superstitious person all his life, and in his later years he literally could not take a step without a personal fortuneteller, who told him good days for him. fashion shows, signing contracts and replacing florists.

In addition to flowers, Christian had another passion as a child - the carnivals regularly held in Granville. He loved to design carnival costumes for himself and his siblings, and then sew them together with the family seamstress. Christian's sister Jacqueline once amazed local society with the Neptune costume invented by her brother; with a bodice made of shells, he did not think then that creating clothes would become his profession: in his youth he became interested in art and dreamed of entering the Academy of Arts to study as an architect. Much to his disappointment, his parents were categorically against it. They wanted their son to have a more respectable and thorough profession, and as a result, Christian entered the School of Political Science.

However, Christian was least interested in political science. Gay Paree The twenties were a place of endless temptations and entertainment. Bohemian parties, theaters, music and ballet, art galleries - this is what Christian devoted himself to completely during his student years. He met many artists, poets and musicians, and did not miss a single performance of Jean Cocteau, from whom he was in admiration. It is not surprising that after graduating from the School, he decided not to pursue a career as a diplomat, but to open an art gallery. The parents reluctantly agreed to finance the enterprise, but on the condition that their name would not appear on the gallery’s sign. Thus, in 1928, the Gallery of Jean Bonjac, a friend of Dior, with whom he started this enterprise, opened in Paris. The gallery enjoyed very steady success; the partners exhibited works by contemporary artists: Dali, Picasso, Matisse, Braque, Léger and many others.

But the success did not last long. A financial crisis erupted throughout the world, and a chain of tragedies occurred in the Dior family. Dior himself, who believed in signs of fate and bad omens, connected them with a mirror that was broken by a gust of wind in their Granville house. The younger brother Bernard, always distinguished by strange behavior, ended up in a mental hospital, his mother died of blood poisoning, his father was completely ruined. Christian was very upset by the misfortunes that befell his family and felt that he needed a sharp change in the situation if he did not want, like his brother, to go crazy. This change was a trip to Soviet Union with a group of young architects who went there to breathe the romance of the revolution and adopt best practices. However, Christian was severely disappointed; he was unable to reach the sources of inspiration that fed his beloved Diaghilev, Nijinsky, Stravinsky and Malevich: everything he saw in Soviet Russia the early thirties - these are “peeling facades, empty storefronts, monstrous poverty.”

Returning to Paris, Christian learns that his gallery with Bonjean has gone bankrupt. For some time he lives in poverty, surviving on money from selling paintings and helping his friend Pierre Coll manage his gallery, where business was also not going well. In 1934, Christian suffered another blow, this time personal: he fell ill with tuberculosis. It was here, probably for the first time in his life, that he truly felt the impact of his peaceful and friendly character: the friends he made in the roaring twenties loved him so much that they collected the necessary amount for treatment and recovery in a clinic in the Balearic islands. A year later, Christian finds himself back in France - healthy, but penniless. And here again friends come to the rescue: the artist Jean Ozenn, who made sketches for fashion houses, introduces him to the world of couturiers and their clients. Christian makes the first sketches - hats, and then dresses - they are taken into production and published in Le Figaro.

In 1937, fashion designer Robert Piguet drew attention to him: first he ordered several models to be created for the collection, and then he took him on. permanent job. Dior later recalled that Piguet taught him that elegance is simplicity itself. Piguet's work was interrupted by the outbreak of war - Dior was drafted into the army. He did not have to take part in hostilities - he served in a construction battalion - and after the surrender of France he moved to unoccupied Provence, where his father and sister lived, and farmed there until 1941 - he had to somehow feed himself.

Piguet had hired another person by that time, but Christian was lucky - another couturier, Lucien Lelong, became interested in his candidacy. As a result, until the end of the war, Dior was busy dressing the wives of Nazi officers and local collaborators. He himself was quite apolitical, but in 1944, when he younger sister Katrin was sent to a concentration camp for her participation in the Resistance movement; he raised everyone possible, including the Swedish consul, in an attempt to free her. Another case is also characteristic, from a later period, when Dior became famous: he had a very strong quarrel with his formerly beloved niece Françoise, the daughter of his elder brother Raymond, after she began to publicly declare that Dior’s manager was participating in a Jewish conspiracy to take him to his grave. As a result, Dior even disinherited Françoise.

Soon after the end of the war, Dior experiences fateful acquaintance with one of the richest men in France, the “cotton baron” Marcel Boussac. Boussac became interested in Dior's ideas about a new post-war graceful look for women and decided that he was ready to invest in the designer establishing his own fashion house. As a result, a fashion house Christian Dior opened at the end of 1946. When Christian saw workers nailing a sign with his name to a mansion on Avenue Montagne, he thought: “If my mother were alive, I would never dare to do this.” Just a few months after the opening, in February 1947, Dior presented his famous collection Corolle, which excited the whole world. Chief Editor magazine Harper's Bazaar Carmel Snow named the collection New Look(“new look”, “new look”), and it was under this name that it became known. Snow also said that Dior saved Paris - just as Paris was saved at the Battle of the Marne. Indeed, it was thanks to Dior that Paris once again became the capital of world fashion.

New Look represented, strictly speaking, not a revolution in the world of fashion, but a return to the traditions of elegance and grace. The woman in the Dior suit really looked like a flower, and also like hourglass: With a cinched waist, accentuated bust and a full skirt that reaches to the calves or ankles. “Women felt with their sure instinct that I wanted to make them not only more beautiful, but also happier,” Dior later recalled. Judging by the enormous success New Look, apparently, this really was the case.

Success had to be maintained - and Dior, without stopping there, comes up with new collections every six months, changing not only the length of the skirt, but even the entire silhouette as a whole. He also demonstrates his commercial talents combined with the ability to understand people well and work with them. He surrounds himself with a powerful support group - which was only worth the three whale ladies on whom the Dior fashion house rested and whom Christian called only “my dears”: Raymonde Zenaker, studio manager, Marguerite Carré, head of the workshops, and Mitza Brisard, chief stylist and specialist in hats and accessories. And in 1948, he hired manager Jacques Rouet, who became the business genius of the house Christian Dior. In particular, it was he who came up with the idea of ​​licensing, which is now used by all fashion houses: when an American company offered to buy the rights to produce stockings Dior, Ruhe instead agreed to pay a percentage of sales. Very soon, accessories, gloves, ties, and perfumes were licensed in the same way. The house of Christian Dior opened ready-to-wear and shoe stores, not only in France and America, but also in many other countries. Dior made suits for such famous women like Marlene Dietrich and Ava Gardner, Elizabeth Taylor and Margot Fonteyn; dressed the Duchess of Windsor and Princess Margaret. In a 1949 Gallup poll, Dior was named one of the top five famous people peace.

Dior did not suffer from star fever; he was too modest for that. He gave interviews, but did not like noisy social events. Cocktail parties for journalists after each screening new collection he left it to his commercial director, childhood friend Suzanne Luleng, and most often he himself did not appear at them. His favorite place was an outdoor refuge where he could relax and walk with his dog, an abandoned mill in Normandy, not far from his native Granville. However, despite the fact that he did not like being in the center of public attention, he also did not like loneliness - he was always surrounded by close friends. The same Suzanne Luleng said that he amazingly combined two qualities - talent and devotion to friends. Almost all the people with whom he became close friends in early youth, maintained a sincere relationship with him all my life. He was loved not only by his friends, but also by his subordinates. Everyone remembered how polite and friendly he was - he even gave up his seat in the elevator to trainees with a bow. One former window dresser at a Dior boutique recalled his boss: “The boutiques had an amazing atmosphere thanks to Dior’s extraordinary gift for communicating with people. He completely shaped my life. He could be called a real gentleman - in the sense that was put into this word in the 17th century.”

Dior also had one more quality uncharacteristic for the world of high fashion - a complete absence of envy. He not only found young talents, but also helped them to open up and build a career. For example, Frederic Castet, who came to work for Dior in 1953, was surprised when his boss soon led him to the door where there was a sign with his name: he began to manage a separate studio. There is a well-known story with the young Yves Saint Laurent, whom Dior hired at the age of nineteen and soon announced as his successor. The incident that happened with Pierre Cardin is also typical. While Dior was in America in 1948, his fashion house in France was under investigation into industrial espionage.

Young Pierre Cardin, who worked for Dior, was also summoned for questioning as a suspect. He was very offended and quit. Dior, from afar, could not intervene and persuade Cardin to stay, but, returning to France, the first thing he did was go to the production studio that Cardin had just opened theatrical costumes to order yourself a King of the Monsters outfit for a masquerade ball. Cardin was so touched that he even burst into tears.

Dior's family and thoughtfulness in the absence of his own offspring turned to his widow best friend Pierre Colle to Carmen and her three daughters. Dior took Carmen to work as a boutique director, and for his daughters he replaced his father in the full sense of the word: he gave them dolls in outfits New Look, I portrayed Père Noël (French Father Christmas) at Christmas, checked my lessons, and planned holiday trips. One of the goddaughters, Marie-Pierre Coll, was also present at last minutes his life: Dior took her with him when he went to rest and improve his health on the waters in Italy.

The main passion in Dior's life, besides fashion, was tasty food. Fifteen years after his death, a book of his favorite recipes, “My Homegrown Kitchen,” was published, in which champagne was indicated as the main additive in the dishes. Dom P?rignon. Anxious about his status in the world of high fashion, he periodically thought that in case of failure he could make a career in cooking. "We could produce ham Dior or maybe roast beef Dior? – he shared his plans with Jacques Rouet. His friend Alexander Lieberman recalled one dinner at Dior's in the summer of 1956: he and his wife Tatyana, five courses one after another. “You should have seen how he added more to himself!”

However, food, although it was one of the main joys in his life, was also a source of constant frustration, because its excessive consumption was not beneficial either for Dior’s ailing heart, who suffered two heart attacks at the turn of the 1940s and 1950s, or for his figure . In a letter to a friend, Dior once signed with sad self-irony: “Your old couturier, who the more decrepit he becomes, the fatter he gets.” In the mid-fifties, doctors advised Dior, who was under stress from the enormous amount of work, to rest more often and allocate a room next to the office for this purpose. But this room became for Dior a place where he secretly ate chocolate. Raymonda Zenaker periodically caught him doing this and scolded him, which made Christian feel guilty. The feeling of guilt exacerbated the hunger, and the circle closed.

But one day Dior decided to step on the throat of his love for food - for the sake of another love. It must be said that in his personal life he was always very secretive and never advertised his connections with men. It is only known that most of his novels ended in severe disappointment: he was offered to “remain friends.” Everything turned out completely differently with the young Algerian singer Jacques Benita, whom Dior met in 1956 (the couturier himself was fifty-one at that moment, Jacques was twenty-five). Jacques, having found a father in Dior, really became very attached to him - and, it seems, sincerely fell in love with him. Christian lost his head so much that he even began to appear in public with Jacques, something he had never allowed himself to do before. Jacques has always maintained that he loves Dior for who he is, and that he absolutely does not need to change anything in his appearance. But Dior still decided to lose weight - and for this purpose he went to the waters of Italy in October 1957, to the town of Montecatini, which since the 14th century was considered one of the most healing in Europe: Rossini, Verdi, Clark Gable and Grace Kelly improved their health there. Even the warning from his personal soothsayer that the trip was extremely unfavorable for him did not stop the loving Dior.

Ten days after arriving in Montecatini, on October 23, Dior died of another heart attack. One version says that this happened after he choked on a fish bone, another that he suffered a heart attack while playing cards. Much later, socialite Alexis von Rosenberg wrote in his memoirs that immediately after Dior’s death there was another version: they say, the couturier’s heart could not stand it after sex with two energetic young men. However, there is no evidence for this version - rather, it may stem from rumors circulating during Dior’s lifetime about his homosexuality.

Thousands of people gathered in Paris to farewell Dior. They brought so many flowers that the capital's mayor's office allowed the House of Dior to display them at the Place de l'Etoile - as a result Triumphal Arch just drowned in colorful petals. The couturier himself would probably have liked this, because he loved flowers almost as much as food and fashion.

Now, more than half a century after the death of Christian Dior, his fashion house is thriving under the leadership of John Galliano. The name of the great couturier still remains a sign of quality and luxury. No wonder Jean Cocteau deciphered his friend’s surname as a combination of words Di– from Dieu(“God”) and Or("gold").