Christian Dior was a French fashion designer born in 1905 who founded the fashion house of Dior in 1946. In 1947, he launched his first haute couture fashion show called "Corolle" which debuted his iconic "New Look" silhouette featuring nipped-in waists, rounded shoulders, and full skirts that emphasized femininity. The New Look was a major success and helped reestablish Paris as the global fashion capital. Dior led the house until his death in 1957, after which other designers like Yves Saint Laurent and John Galliano continued his legacy of redefining fashion trends.

1. Christian Dior
Jessica Harrington

2. Timeline of Christian Dior
•1905 -Christian Dior was born
•1928 -Opened an art gallery in Paris
•1935 -Illustrated for Figaro Illustrémagazine
•1937 -Employed by fashion designer Robert Piguet
•1942 -Joined fashion house of Lucien Lelong
•1946 -Founded The Fashion House of Dior

3. Timeline of Christian Dior
•1947 -Launched his first Haute Couture fashion show
•1947 -First perfume, Miss Dior
•1949 -Dior boutique in NYC opened
•1953 -first Dior lipstick and shoe line
•1957 -First couturier to make cover of Time magazine
•1957 -Dior died, age 52

4. Start of His Fashion Career
•Sold his fashion sketches for money
•Started working for Robert Piguetin 1937
•Designed 3 collections for him
•“Piguettaught me the virtues of simplicity through which true elegance must come.”

5. Start of His Fashion Career
•Worked at the Fashion House of Lucien Lelongduring WWII
•Designed dresses for wives of Nazi officers and French collaborators
•Offered position of artistic director of the Fashion House of Philippe et Gaston

6. Start of The Dior Fashion House
•Believed in signs and symbols - lucky star
•Found a star while walking home -meant it was his destiny to start his own fashion house
•“Passing in front of 30, avenue Montaigne, Christian Dior knew that this little townhouse would be home to his couture label”
•February 12th, 1947 first haute couture fashion show called Corolle

7. First Collection
•Spring-Summer collection
•“It’s quite a revolution, dear Christian! Your dresses have such a new look!” - Editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar
•Collection was referred to as The New Look
•Pairs regained the title of fashion capitol of the world thanks to Dior after slightly losing it during WWII

8. The Old Look
•WWII attire was boxy, masculine, fabric-conserving
•De-feminized uniforms worn by women traditionally in masculine occupations
•Ration restrictions on fabric

9. The New Look
•“I wanted my dresses to be constructed” on the curves of the female body
•Known for unique silhouettes, lengths, volumes, tiny waists, sexy busts
•Volume to hips, accentuated waist, emphasized bust
•Went back to ultra feminine silhouette
•Mass amounts of fabric used to make one dress

10. The New Look
•Became a master of creating shapes and silhouettes
•Work lined with percale, boned, bustier- style bodices, hip padding, wasp-waisted corsets, petticoats
•Collection inspired by flowers
•Rose was his favorite flower
•Line resembled flowers, petals, loops of figure 8

11. The New Look

12. Effect on the World
•News spread of The New Look to U.S.
•More than half the revenue came from US in the 50s
•Influenced designers after the 50s
•Still found in modern day fashion

13. Celebrities in Dior
Grace Kelly
Marilyn Monroe
Elizabeth Taylor
Ava Gardner

14. Dior After Death
•October 23, 1957 Dior died
•Yves Saint Laurent took over the house (1957-1958)
•Made clothes softer, lighter, easier to wear
•“National hero”
•Criticized for not making elegant enough pieces

15. Dior by Yves Saint Laurent

16. Dior After Death
•Marc Bohantook over (1958- 1989)
•Instilled conservative style
•Rescued the firm with elegant wearable clothes
•Created first masculine scent, Baby Dior, Dior watches, skincare treatment

17. Dior by Marc Bohan

18. Dior After Death
•Gianfranco Ferréan Italian designer became head designer (1989-1997)
•Style was flirtatiousand romantic
•Introduced concepts and style that was “refined, sober, and strict

19. Dior by Gianfranco Ferré

20. Dior After Death
•John Galliano a British designer took over fashion house (1997- 2011)
•Established look “Anything Goes Era”
•Extreme makeover of the house
•Style was a mixture of romanticism, feminism, and modernity
•Fired in 2011

21. Dior by John Galliano

22. Present Day Dior
•RafSimons is the artistic director (2012)
•Currently designs women’s ready-to-wear and haute couture collections
•Known as a minimalist
•Contrasts against the dramatic designs of Galliano

23. Dior by RafSimons

24. Celebrities in Dior
Natalie Portman
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lawrence

25. Present Day Dior

26. Works Cited
http://www.dior.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Diorhttp://nymag.com/thecut/fashion/designers/christian-dior/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Dior_S.A