Christian Dior’s 120th birthday: Five facts about the iconic fashion designer

Dior – this name stands for luxury, elegance, opulence and is probably known to almost everyone. It should also be known that Christian Dior (1905-1957), a French designer, is behind it. But who was this man who brought glamor back to the post-war period and revolutionized fashion with his “New Look”? Christian Dior would have been 120 years old on January 21st.

As the son of a major industrialist in Normandy, Dior had a privileged start in life. After aborting his diplomatic training, he initially worked as a gallery owner in Paris with the financial support of his family. It was only his father’s bankruptcy as a result of the global economic crisis that led Dior to start making fashion drawings in the 1930s. In 1946 he finally founded his own brand, creating one of the most important fashion houses in the world to this day.

Before things could get that far, however, the Second World War intervened. Dior was obliged to do military service right from the start, which he was allowed to leave in 1941. As a result, he moved to the south of France to live with his father and sister, as can be read. There he bought an orchard from which he helped the family make ends meet.

In general, Dior had a soft spot for nature; he was particularly fond of flowers and these were later reflected in his collections. “Flowers are, apart from women, the most beautiful gift that God has given the world,” he is said to have once said. Nevertheless, he eventually sold the plantation, returned to Paris and resumed his path as an aspiring designer.

At 42, Christian Dior opened his first salon in Paris. His debut collection, dubbed “New Look”, received critical acclaim. Just one year later, Dior introduced his famous perfume “Miss Dior”, which is still available today. He dedicated the rose scent to a very special person: his sister Catherine (1917-2008).

“The real Miss Dior did exist, and she was very serious,” explained Frédéric Bourdelier from Maison Christian Dior. Catherine Dior joined the French resistance movement during World War II and collected information about the movements of German troops. As a member of the Resistance, she was arrested by the Gestapo in 1944 and taken to the Ravensbrück concentration camp. A year later she was freed and returned to Paris.

But Christian Dior didn’t just make a name for himself in the fashion and perfume world. In fact, there is a dish named after him. “Œuf Christian Dior”, i.e. the Christian Dior egg, is a recipe that the designer himself developed together with his colleagues Yves Saint Laurent (1936-2008) and Pierre Bergé (1930-2017) at the Prunier delicatessen should have.

The company describes “Œuf Christian Dior” as Dior’s beloved soft-boiled egg in a chicken stock. Bergé is said to have cut off the top of the egg and added caviar. In general, Dior loved good food and was considered a real gourmet. “Eating is a most unfair thing: each bite stays in the mouth for a maximum of two minutes, in the stomach for two hours, but on the hips for three months,” is said to come from his mouth.

The fashion house Dior has dressed numerous celebrities since its founding. When Christian Dior was still alive, his most prominent customer was probably Princess Margaret (1930-2002), the sister of Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022). As written, among other things, the two princesses visited a Dior fashion show in Paris with their mother in 1950 and were immediately impressed. That same year, the fashion designer designed a legendary silk dress for Margaret’s 21st birthday.

Over the years, Margaret became one of the most loyal buyers of Dior fashion, whose creator in turn had a soft spot for Britain. In 1954 he held a benefit show for the Red Cross for his royal admirer at the royal Blenheim Palace near Oxford.

Three years after this show, Christian Dior died in Italy. He was only 52 years old and most likely died of a heart attack. Dior was very superstitious throughout his life. He always carried a number of small talismans with him, including a four-leaf clover, a lucky star and lily of the valley, among other things. He also had this flower sewn into one of the dresses in each of his collections.

Dior is said to have sought the help of a fortune teller for the first time when he was just 14 years old. She allegedly predicted that women would bring him a lot of happiness in his life and that he would go on long journeys. Later it became established that he had tarot cards laid out before important life decisions or fashion shows. Even today, luck and tarot symbolism can often be found in Dior’s pieces.