In the beginning Monsieur Dior gave us light. Radiated via the luminous ivory silk of the structured jacket belonging to the iconic monochrome Bar suit that exemplified the French fashion designer’s iconic new look, this new light had seemingly blinding after-effects. Contributing at once to a revolution in taste and style and singularly putting an end to post World War II austerity measures that had affected the fashion industry, Maison Dior triumphantly put prepossessing and blooming femininity to the fore.
Evoking glorious memories of the past and dressing them up entirely en vogue for the mid-century, Christian Dior’s bold new look comprised of 95 designs that collectively elevated the beauty of the feminine figure by opposing the stark and flat silhouettes of the day when first presented in Paris on February 12, 1947. Encouraged perhaps by the tutelage that he received prior to the war and courtesy of his first mentor, celebrated dressmaker Robert Piguet, whom a decade earlier versed Dior in “the virtues of simplicity through which true elegance must come”, the brand’s legacy was set in a look anew.
Bar afternoon suit, natural shantung jacket, black wool pleated skirt.
Spring-Summer 1947 Haute Couture by Christian Dior. Illustration: Tyler Cookson
Received to great acclaim, the very concept of the new look is celebrated as one of the greatest moments in fashion history. Much to the probable dismay of Marcel Boussac, the richest businessman in France at the time from whom Dior dismissed an offer to take the reigns at ageing couture house Philippe et Gaston, Monsieur Dior’s decision to christen an eponymous atelier has since gone down both firmly and fabulously in fashion history. A glitzy name now known the world over and undoubtedly one of France’s most cherished institutions, Christian Dior SE stands to this day a fashion brand in the business of delivering the newest looks of the moment and a tour de force constituent within the luxury goods market.
In an ode to the reconstruction mode that Dior’s new look heralded back when the entire world looked to the future; and following the recently announced appointment of Dior’s latest creative director, Maria Grazia Chiuri, Glass considers each of the talented designers who took the place of Monsieur Dior over the years.
Trapeze afternoon dress by Yves Saint Laurent for Dior Haute Couture Spring-Summer 1958.
Yves Saint Laurent (1957 – 1960). Illustration: Tyler Cookson
It was only 10 years after Christian Dior introduced his revolutionary approach that the death of the head designer in 1957 to the shock of the fashion industry, leaving the House of Dior in chaos and creating the widespread belief that operations would be shut down worldwide by general manager Jacques Rouët. However the position of artistic director was given to the 21-year-old Yves Saint Laurent, who up until that point had been the first and only head assistant chosen by Monsieur Dior in 1955.
From the start picking up the pieces of a Maison in panic Laurent proved himself an immensely talented designer. His first collection, in 1958, showed the kind of meticulous craft and learned proportions that the young designer had absorbed under the tuition of Monsieur Dior. In an effort to respond to the youth-quake of the day that was shaking culture worldwide, Laurent attempted to inject the brand with a hit of hip. Management, however, did not concur.
Following his bohemian new direction being harshly criticised by the uptight fashion press, it was decided by Dior management that prolonging the progressive young designer’s tenure any further was not in line with the brand’s identity. Despite his departure from the first and only brand that served to incubate his immense talent, Yves Saint Laurent would soon go on to achieve an insurmountable success in his own right. A success, it could be said, worthy even of rivaling Dior at its most prosperous.
Haute Couture Spring-Summer 1986 by Marc Bohan for Dior.
Marc Bohan (1960 – 1989). Illustration: Tyler Cookson
Replacing Laurent as creative director immediately following his departure was Marc Bohan. As an added irony, it was Bohan who actually succeeded Monsieur Dior when his training some two decades earlier under the guidance of dressmaker Robert Piguet came to an end, after being allowed to design three collections for Piguet that would give Dior his big break.
Bohan, a sensible choice on the part of Dior at that unsettled time due to his prior experience, was credited immediately with introducing the kind of deceptively simple, elegant designs that gave Dior its position at the forefront of fashion. With his consistent creation of alluring, wearable garments Bohan would establish Dior as a luxury goods powerhouse. First doing so by appealing to prominent social figures and, then, by facilitating the operation of Dior going global as a brand when the industry wised up to the business potential in ready-to-wear at the end of the sixties, further business coups followed during his impressive tenure at Dior.
During his 30-year stretch as creative director, the longest of any designer in this position, Bohan oversaw the introduction of the fragrance for men, Eau Sauvage, in 1966, the conception of Christian Dior Cosmetics in 1969, followed by the launch of the first Christian Dior Homme line in 1970, the opening of countless Dior boutiques the world over and even the introduction of the first Dior watch, Black Moon in 1975.
No doubt able to capture the latest look of each passing era during which he held creative control at Dior, Bohan can be regarded with bolstering Dior’s stature as one of the most influential luxury fashion brands in the world throughout the 20th century and beyond.
Haute Couture Fall-Winter 1992 by Gianfranco Ferré for Dior.
Gianfranco Ferre (1989 – 1997). Illustration: Tyler Cookson
Taking the place of Bohan once his time as creative director had all but run its course was Italian-born designer Gianfranco Ferré. Ferré’s placement in the creative director position represented a veritably safe choice by Dior, yet again, due to Ferré’s clear talent and renown as a designer famed for a highly original statement elegance.
Indeed, the only major ripple that Ferré caused during his tenure owed to his being the first such non-Frenchman in the position. Introducing design concepts across the board that stayed true to time-honoured codes yet moved away from the archetypal Parisian predilections for romance and coquetishness which until then typified the brand, Ferré did succeed in gracing Dior with a refreshingly refined sheen however.
In that respect encouraging an already thriving company to continue thriving, Ferré was awarded the Dé d’Or, a now defunct prize more commonly known as the Golden Thimble awarded to high fashion designers in France between 1976 and 1990, in 1989 after presenting his first collection. Excelling in his role while the success of Dior as a brand skyrocketed, Ferré was the perfect engineer of the luxury label in a gilt-edged early nineties, booming on account of the me-decade that had preceded it.
Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2007 by John Galliano for Dior.
John Galliano (1997 – 2011). Illustration: Tyler Cookson
Come the galvanising approach of the new millennium in 1997, it was all down to the clout of Anna Wintour in her role as Editor-in-Chief of American Vogue that put the visionary that was Gibraltar-born British designer John Galliano in the sought-after chief creative position at Dior. Moving Galliano from his parallel position at Givenchy, head of LVMH Bernard Arnault appointed British designer him to replace Gianfranco Ferré in 1997, recreating the dismay that prevailed after Dior found its first non-French creative director in Ferré less than a decade earlier
Regardless, Galliano’s unapologetic enfant terrible enchantment gave the brand a jolt into the glossy avant-garde category and instantaneously the dynamic new creative director was able to ride on the wave of success the company was already experiencing. Combining a mixture of romanticism, feminism and modernity Galliano proved himself a vital asset to Dior and an extraordinarily talented designer in his own right. Thanks also to his flamboyant high jinks, Galliano crucially promised Dior the headlines they and numerous other fashion brands needed as the World Wide Web grew rapidly.
Soon enough, in a new turn of events that increasingly saw superstar creative directors trumping the brands they belonged to, the name Galliano became as equally synonymous with lionised luxury in an MTV-led age of noughties-era fast fashion as Dior itself.
Identifying his love of theatre and femininity as central to his creations; Galliano commented in 2010 that “my role is to seduce”. Just months later however, the designer’s passionate approach to his predispositions paired with his unapologetic nature would alas herald his downfall. After Galliano’s shameful outburst of anti-Semitic abuse made international headlines ended his role as superstar creative director. Nevertheless, Galliano’s formidable contribution to the zeitgeist and ascendency within Dior’s atelier will not easily be forgotten.
Haute Couture Fall-Winter 2011 by Bill Gaytten for Dior. Bill Gaytten (2011 – 2012).
Illustration: Tyler Cookson
A designer placed in the eye of the storm soon after controversy shook Dior from top to bottom, the brand pushed ahead by appointing Bill Gaytten head designer interim in the absence of a creative director.
Previously working under Galliano for Dior and also for the John Galliano label, Gaytten’s initial and sophomore offerings over the short course of two seasons received mixed reviews, no doubt due to the bountiful pace Galliano had established. During this time speculation within the industry as to who Dior would appoint as Galliano’s successor was rife. Throughout the 13-months the brand remained essentially creative director-less, a major hindrance in an age of superstar creative directors, Dior began drastically stripping back its brand identity to make way for the total overhaul afoot.
Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2013 by Raf Simons for Dior.
Raf Simons (2012 – 2015). Illustration: Tyler Cookson
Seen as Dior’s saving grace, Belgian designer Raf Simons swept into the role of creative director on April 11, 2012. Known throughout the industry for his stark and strikingly minimal designs the fashion press were soon to be put on the edge of their assigned f’row seats, eagerly awaiting their first glimpse at the revitalising designer’s new-born brand identity.
The leading light of a new breed of studious, self-effacing creative directors, and in that respect, the antithesis of his predecessor, Simons did his homework in Dior’s archives to guide his creative overseeing of the brand’s transition. Rolling out a reflective, yet not in any way nostalgic, nod to Dior’s heritage in elegant contemporary form, Simons debut Fall-Winter 2012 haute-couture collection, was considered a major highlight of the autumn couture shows. Despite the designer’s shy and retiring presence, and uniting this with the brand he creatively directed, Simons excelled in his sobering take on how fashion tastes were being altered in the second decade of the new millennium.
While the sleek sheen that Simons purveyed ruled at Dior, and indeed in various incarnations throughout high fashion; Simons bowed out as creative director in October 2015. Owing, perhaps, to the frenetic momentum that has increasingly led the industry in recent years during such times of economic uncertainty, Simons’ exit after a successful rechristening of a troubled brand identity cast certain fresh doubts on the state of the global fashion industry.
Maria Grazia Chiuri (2016 – ). Illustration: Tyler Cookson
Only a few hours into writing this, it was officially announced that Maria Grazia Chiuri, creatively née Valentino’s two-part team of creative directors – the other being Pierpaolo Piccioli – is to be appointed Dior’s first-ever female creative director.
Coming after a period of just under a month of speculation within the industry, the confirmation that the brains behind Dior, Bernard Arnault, has chosen the Italian fashion designer to effectively replace Raf Simons has to some extent reanimated the industry. Having previously executed exemplary work reimagining Valentino in a dreamy haze of fairy-tale fashions and ubiquitous studded stilettoes, not much can be said yet about the direction in which Chiuri will take Dior. Moreover, the brand’s announcement instead represents a major change in the industry that has been a long time coming.
Changing the face of Dior’s atelier in a ground-breaking coup by being placed at the head of the pre-eminent brand and emerging as the first ever female creative director, Chiuri has now rewritten fashion history. Roughly 100 years since Gabrielle Chanel went down in history as the first woman to pierce a male-dominated industry by releasing the fashionable female population of the world from their corseted restrictions; Chiuri has all the skills and experience to inspire great change in world now dominated by the influence of fashion.
Now ready to take her first all-significant steps as the first woman entrusted to lead the great fashion brand, Chiuri has her work cut out for her for two main reasons. Chiuri must establish a remodelled brand identity with a strong sense of pace that can match the accelerated rate at which commodities are communicated and consumed in our times. Secondly, and perhaps adding insult to injury, Chiuri faces this at odds with a luxury sector not necessarily languishing, but showing a slowdown in certain key markets due to many complex global factors.
Until the time comes that Chiuri shows her first collection for Christian Dior in Paris on September 30, only industry speculation will suffice in giving an insight into her thought process. If the woman who is now one of the significant figures in the industry is able to channel even a modicum of the endurance that the industry’s innovators, such as Monsieur Dior, exhibited in times of more incredible strife, she should be just fine. Here’s to 69 years of the brand giving the fashion industry the most dynamic visions, and a new look for the future.
by Livia Feltham
All illustrations by Tyler Cookson. To see more of his work, please go here.
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