Dior Couture house has always stood for glamour, elegance and luxury. Although Monsieur Christian Dior spent only 10 years designing and directing his brand, it was enough time for him to create history in fashion and present something glamorous, with his NewLook, after the dark days of the war.

Dior's legacy was masterful cuts and tailoring, celebrating the female form, exotic and historical influences and lastly theatrical presentation.

A Brief History

Christian Dior opened his own fashion house in 1947 while Paris was still under the Nazi occupation.

As a child, he had a passion for flowers, which influenced his work as a designer later in life.

He studied a political science course and then pursued his passion for arts. He then studied music composition that lead him to develop his personal tastes. This whole influence by art lead him to anonymously open an art gallery where he traded artwork for Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Max Jacob...

He worked as a designer for Lucien Lelong, then for Robert Piguet. He also worked alongside Pierre Balmain.

Dior's Influence on Fashion 

 World War 2  lead to fabric rationing. Fashion and outfit silhouettes for women reflexted that time of regression. French fashion lost its glamour and glory due to the war. Dior then presented a collection "New Look" which contrasted the austerity of the war years, giving back the femininity and elegance to the women.

The New Look silhouette presented the shape of an inverted flower; accentuated curves,  nipped in waist and a full skirt with lots and lots of fabric.

His designs later became less extreme, more gentle and wearable. 

Designers after Dior 

Dior died after 10 years of heading hos house and other designers took over.

Yves Saint Laurent (1957-1960)

Yves Saint Laurent wotked for Dior since 1955 and took over the creative role after his death. He introduced the "Trapez" line and his creations were prescient. He was called to the military service and had to leave the fashion house.

Marc Bohan (1961-1989)

Bohan was deeply respectful of Dior's and haute couture traditions. He launched "Miss Dior" ready-to-wear line in 1967, in addition to "Baby Dior" and "Dior Homme" fashion line. He provided a timeless elegance essential to the longevity of Dior.

Gianfranco Ferre (1989-1996)

He was Italian with a background in ready-to-wear,which is important since few women could afford haute couture. He stayed true to the New Look yet left his own mark with with exaggerated elements, flared sleeves and billowing skirts.

John Galliano (1996-2011)

His flamboyant feminine gowns were inspired by Dior's own love for the exaggerated female form. He even gave his own twist on Dior's beloved Belle Epoque.  Galliano created a truly remarkable variety of designs for the fashion house.

Bill Gaytten (2011-2012) 

Bill Gaytten worked alongside Galliano for 23 years,  he was only a temporary replacement. He wasn't treated very well by the fashion press. He used the New Look as a base for his designs as well as Galliano's style with the exaggerated silhouette.

Raf Simons (2012-2015)

Raf Simons recreated the simplicity of Dior's first collection.  He reconstructed the legacy of Dior, he brought energy to the label with precise cuts, use of brightly coloured materials and his inclination towards ergonomic shapes.

Maria Grazia Chiuri (2016-Present)

The first female creative director of Dior. Her moto is to create fashion that resembles the women of today, believing that clothes should answer the needs for being practical, aesthetic and political. Maria Grazia Chiuri took the brand from being 'feminine' to becoming 'feminist'.

Miss Dior and Lady Dior

There is a story behind these two famous names. The fragrance "Miss Dior" was inspired by Dior's love for flowers and his favourite sister Catherine, they were discussing names for the perfume when his sister walked into the room and someone said 'Look there's Miss Dior', so that's how they came up with the name.

The "Lady Dior" bag was named after Princess Diana because she used this style so much. Originally it was called "Chouchou" then "Princess".

 Happy New Year! So to I'm writing about some of the important fashion news that occurred through the first month of this year. January is usually quit and slow, but now that it's over, let's welcome the upcoming month in anticipation for a new fresh season.

1. Chanel's New Clean Beauty Line 'No.1 De Chanel' :

Chanel has launched a new beauty line 'No.1 De Chanel' which harnesses the benefits of the red camellia, a very important flower to the brand. The new product line has a holistic and an environmentally conscious approach, as the formula contains up to 97% of naturally derived ingredients and 76% of camellia ingredients. 

The French label also designed the beauty line to minimize the impact on the environment through its packaging.

2. Selfridges Steps into The Metaverse with 'Over The Counter' NFTs:

Selfridges steps into the metaverse as they announce selling of NFTs in their physical stores. The British department store chain says it is the first retailer in the world to sell fixed-price NFTs over the counter.

The NFTs will feature either artwork by OP art movement pioneer, Victor Vasarely or one of the first 12 iconic dresses ever created by Paco Rabanne called the "Unwearables".

The company will sell over 1800 NFTs at its London store's corner shop.

3. Valentino Launches Lunar New Year Collection:

Italian fashion house 'Valentino' is celebrating the Lunar New Year with a Valentino Tiger 1967 collection featuring ready-to-wear and accessories. 

As part of its Lunar New Year celebrations, the tiger motif has been reinterpreted on a selection of contemporary looks.

4. Maison Margiela x Reebok:

Both brands collaborated to launch the classic Leather Tabi Decortique low, which is a reinterpreted sneaker of Reebok's classic leather runner mixed with Maison Margiela's technique of decortique. This technique was developed by creative director John Galliano which describes the deconstruction of a garment or accessory to its core structure.

The low-top trainer will be available in tonal black, white and red leather as well as Maison Margiela's signature "bianchetto" technique which purposely chips with wear.

5. H&M Launches Virtual Fashion Collection in Collaboration with Dress-X:

H&M set to explore the virtual fashion world with the launch of a digital collection to release through a competition. The competition will be launched through H&M official website, where customers have the chance to win an exclusive look from the range. The virtual fashion collection was created with digital and virtual clothing platform, Dress-X.
In keeping with the brand's sustainability goals, the looks from the collection will be only available as a prize for the competition, they won't be sold nor manufactured.

6. Louis Vuitton Presented The Final Collection by Virgil Abloh:

Louis Vuitton presented the final collection directed by Virgil Abloh before his death later last year. The show was emotional to many people. The collection was 95% ready at the time of Abloh's death.

7. Hermès Calls for Removal of MetaBirkins from NFT Platforms:

Hermès is suing the NFT creator Mason Rothschild, who has seen viral success marketing a line of digital assets he calls “MetaBirkins.”

 Mason Rothschild created over 100 individual Birkin inspired NFTs, however the bags are not created by Hermes nor are real.

After the bags were for sale on OpenSea with a trading value of 1.1 million dollars, they were removed, since they infringed Hermes trademark, the design were neither licensed nor endorsed.

However, once an NFT is created, the entry can't be erased from the blockchain.

8. The Death of Thierry Mugler and Andre Leon:

  January brought another sad news for the industry with the death of 2 major influential names. 

  Thierry Mugler was a French fashion designer, known for his metamorphic silhouettes and avant-garde fashion. His brand was very influential in 1980s and 1990s.

  Andre Leon Tally was a fashion Journalist who worked at American Vogue for years.

9.Barbie x Balmain Clothing Collection and NFT Auction:

The duo have released a ready-to-wear collection of Barbie x Balmain-branded apparel and accessories, rendered almost exclusively in shades of pink.

The French maison is ushering Barbie into the metaverse with a partnership that straddles the physical and digital world.

Barbie manufacturer Mattel launched an NFT auction offering up three unique Barbie avatars clad in digital renditions of the physical collection. Highest bidders will also receive a physical set of doll-sized Balmain clothing.