Christian Dior was born on January 21st, 1905 in Northern France as the second of five children whose father was a successful fertilizer manufacturer. He always loved architecture and planned to study that in school, but due to family wishes he studied political science at Ecole des Sciences Politques in 1925. When he graduated in 1928, he father lent him money to open up an art gallery as long as their family name was not tied to it, therefore the DIOR Gallery came into existence. In 1931, he was forced to close the gallery.

To make ends meet, Christian Dior began selling his fashion sketches. Through this, he landed a job illustrating the magazine called Figaro Illustre. Several years later, he was hired as a design assistant by Robert Piguet. Shortly, he resigned in order to enter the army as an Officer during World War II but returned to Paris in 1940. Soon after returning he was hired by Couturier Lucien Lelong.

The 16th of December 1946, Dior was able to found his own Fashion House due to the backing of French Entrepreneur Marcel Boussac. In 1947, Dior exploded onto the Paris Fashion scene during wartime and reintroduced a focus on women’s fashion. He came up with a new look which consisted of small shoulders, cinched waists, and volumous skirts with lower neck hemlines. Here are just a few of the revolutionized lines Dior created to change women’s fashion:

• 1950- Oblique Line
• 1951- Oval Line and Envol Line
• 1952- The Princess Line and Profile Line
• 1954- The H-Line
• 1955- The A-Line and Y-Line

“As a designer, I have to follow the rules and Principles of Architecture and respect the Law of Gravity.” -Christian Dior

Through his designs, Dior helped re-establish Paris as the centre of the fashion world Post-war. He designed for the world’s most elegant and fashionable women of his time, including the entire wardrobe for Marlene Dietrich for Alfred Hancock’s “Stage Fright”, and the Duchess of Windsor. In 1957, he was the first designer to be featured on the cover of TIMES Magazine.

On October 23rd, 1957, Christian Dior dies at the age of 52 in Montecatini, Italy. His funeral was attended by an estimated 2,500 people (including all of his staff and some of the celebrities he designed for). Upon his death, his assistant Yves Saint Laurent took over his couture house, and the succeeded by Marcel Boussac. In 1984, the fashion house was bought by Bernard Arnault and Gianfranco Fevre was appointed as Artistic Director. The house held on to its reputation and even designed Her Majesty Farah Pahlavi’s coronation dress and the outfit Marilyn Monroe wore for her last photoshoot.

Christian Dior was a master of shapes and silhouettes. He turned the traditional feeling of couture upside down. He helped propel a fashion and social revolution. Dior’s success was based on the innovation of both his designs and his business practices. Thus making him the most successful fashion designer in the world.