Christian Dior: influences, peers and legacy

Every connection with its receipt

Christian Dior's 1947 New Look was less an invention than a resurrection — of Belle Époque corsetry, of his mother's Granville garden dresses, and of the surrealist Paris salons where he sold Dalí drawings before he ever cut a pattern. This mix traces the couturier back through his gallerist years, his apprenticeships at Piguet and Lelong, and forward to the assistant who inherited the house at 21.

The Kynda mix for Christian Dior

• Key Influence · Fracas by Robert Piguet (1948). Dior's first couture job was with Robert Piguet, who hired him in 1938 after seeing his sketches and taught him, in Dior's own account, the value of simplicity and omission. Piguet's house was also where Dior's later rival Balmain and Galanos trained. Fracas, Piguet's tuberose landmark, shows the same instinct for a single overwhelming statement that Dior applied to the Corolle line's silhouette.medium: fragrance as design object.reason continues: formative apprenticeship.
• Influencia Obscura · Costume and set designs for La Folle de Chaillot by Christian Bérard (1945). Bérard, the painter-designer known as 'Bébé', was Dior's close friend from the 1920s Paris avant-garde and one of the few people whose eye Dior deferred to; Bérard's fashion illustrations and Cocteau collaborations shaped the romantic, painterly presentation of Dior's early collections. His theatrical designs for Giraudoux and Cocteau are the missing visual link between Dior's gallery years and his salon.
• Local Roots · Bar au Lido dress by Jacques Fath (1950). Fath was Dior's neighbour in the postwar Paris couture map and, with Balmain and Dessès, one of the 'Big Four' of 1950s haute couture named alongside him. Fath's sharply cut, more overtly sexy silhouettes competed directly with the Corolle line for the same American buyers on the same show schedule, and his early death in 1954 left Dior briefly unrivalled in Paris.
• Beyond the Medium · Le Sommeil by Salvador Dalí (1937). Before couture, Dior ran the Galerie Jacques Bonjean and later worked at Pierre Colle's gallery, showing and selling work by Dalí, Picasso, Giacometti and Max Jacob. Surrealism's remaking of the body — draped, propped, distorted — informed his later view of the dress as sculpture built on an internal architecture, and Dalí himself later collaborated with the Paris couture world.
• Peer · Sack dress by Cristóbal Balenciaga (1957). Balenciaga worked from avenue George V while Dior worked from avenue Montaigne, and the two defined opposing poles of 1950s couture: Dior's corseted, internally engineered hourglass against Balenciaga's tunics, sacks and barrel lines that freed the waist entirely. Dior openly regarded the Spaniard as the technical master of the craft, and Balenciaga's loose lines ultimately won the 1960s.
• From the Canon · Bar suit by Christian Dior (1947). The defining piece of the 12 February 1947 debut collection that Carmel Snow of Harper's Bazaar christened the 'New Look': cream shantung jacket with padded hips and a hand-span waist over a pleated black wool skirt using yards of fabric still theoretically rationed. It restored Paris's authority after the Occupation and set the female silhouette for a decade.
• Key Collaborator · Comma heel by Roger Vivier (1954). Vivier designed shoes for Dior from 1953, the first time a shoemaker's name appeared alongside a couturier's on the label, and his stiletto and curved 'comma' heels completed the New Look posture that Dior's silhouettes demanded. He also made the shoes Elizabeth II wore for her 1953 coronation, during the years of the Dior partnership.
• Legacy · Spring/Summer 1997 haute couture collection for Dior by John Galliano (1997). Galliano took over Dior's couture house in 1996 and used the fiftieth anniversary of the New Look to rebuild Dior's archive silhouettes — the bias cuts, the Bar jacket, the corsetry — as theatre. His tenure made the founder's own vocabulary of hip padding and boned waists central to 1990s fashion again, and his shows explicitly quoted the 1947 Corolle line.

What influenced Christian Dior

• Robert Piguet. Dior credits Piguet as a formative teacher in haute couture. (also via Fracas) “In 1938, Dior was hired by Robert Piguet, who gave him the opportunity to design for three collections. It was Piguet who brought Dior into the world of haute couture” (Wikipedia)
• Cristóbal Balenciaga (1895). Dior publicly acknowledged Balenciaga as 'the master of us all', indicating his stature and influence. (also via Bar suit, Sack dress) “was referred to as "the master of us all" by Christian Dior” (Wikipedia)
• La Belle et la Bête by Jean Cocteau (1946). La Belle et la Bête (Jean Cocteau) — ghost for Christian Dior “Bérard's most renowned achievement was probably his lustrous, magical designs for Jean Cocteau's film La Belle et la Bête (1946).” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Piquet. Dior worked as an assistant to fashion designer Piquet before establishing his own house. “designing hats for Agnes and in 1938 he became an assistant of Piquet.” (The Daily Alaska Empire (Juneau, Alaska))
• Lucien LeLong. Dior worked for Lucien LeLong and rose to prominence there by creating hobble skirts and rounded drapes. “Lelong did not design as much as supervise and mentor the designers who worked for him, and Dior spent the war learning from Lelong” (Wikipedia)
• Agnes. Dior designed hats for Agnes before becoming an assistant to Piquet. “designing hats for Agnes and in 1938 he became an assistant of Piquet.” (The Daily Alaska Empire (Juneau, Alaska))
• Le Bal du comte d'Orgel by Raymond Radiguet (1924). Le Bal du comte d'Orgel (Raymond Radiguet) — culture for Christian Dior (openlibrary.org)
• Costume and set designs for La Folle de Chaillot by Christian Bérard (1945). Costume and set designs for La Folle de Chaillot (Christian Bérard) — ghost for Christian Dior “The house opened on 8 October 1946, on 30 Avenue Montaigne, with 85 staff members, seven models, and a salon decorated, by Victor Grandpierre and Christian Bérard, in black, white and gray.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Le Smoking by Yves Saint Laurent (1966). Le Smoking (Yves Saint Laurent) — titan for Christian Dior “In 1955, 19-year-old Yves Saint Laurent became Dior's design assistant.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Fracas by Robert Piguet (1948). Fracas (Robert Piguet) — titan for Christian Dior “In 1937, Dior was hired by Robert Piguet, who gave him the opportunity to design for three collections.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Le Sommeil by Salvador Dalí (1937). Le Sommeil (Salvador Dalí) — culture for Christian Dior “In 1950, Dalí created a special "costume for the year 2045" with Christian Dior.” (en.wikipedia.org)

Peers and kindred spirits

• Salvador Dalí (1904). Dalí and Dior created a costume together. (also via Christian Dior, Le Sommeil) “In 1950, Dalí created a special "costume for the year 2045" with Christian Dior.” (Wikipedia)
• Pierre Cardin (1922). Cardin worked at the House of Dior and designed a key Corolla piece. (also via Bubble dress) “The house employed Pierre Cardin as head of tailoring for its first three years; it was he who designed one of the most popular Corolla ensembles, the "Bar Suit"” (Wikipedia)
• Elsa Schiaparelli (1890). Dior sold fashion sketches to Schiaparelli. (also via Shocking) “his sketches were purchased by the House of Patou, the House of Worth, and Elsa Schiaparelli, Maggy Rouff, and Edward Molyneux” (Wikipedia)
• Pierre Balmain. Dior worked alongside Balmain at Lelong's house during the war. (also via Jolie Madame) “Dior spent the war learning from Lelong and working with Balmain and Hubert de Givenchy, among others.” (Wikipedia)
• Roger Vivier. Dior co-designed shoes with shoe designer Roger Vivier. (also via Comma heel) “now he was co-designing shoes with Delman and Vivier” (Wikipedia)
• Mme. Briard. Dior relied on Mme. Briard for a woman's viewpoint while designing new dresses. “taking advice only from Mme. Bria no Briard, 46-ytar-old fashion ex pert who gives him the woman's viewpoint” (The Daily Alaska Empire (Juneau, Alaska))
• House of Patou. Dior sold fashion sketches to the House of Patou early in his career. “his sketches were purchased by the House of Patou, the House of Worth, and Elsa Schiaparelli, Maggy Rouff, and Edward Molyneux” (Wikipedia)
• Herman Delman. Dior collaborated with shoe manufacturer Delman. “In 1953, Dior entered into a collaborative relationship with the American shoe manufacturer Herman Delman” (Wikipedia)
• Hubert de Givenchy (1927). Dior worked alongside Givenchy at Lelong's house during the war. “Dior spent the war learning from Lelong and working with Balmain and Hubert de Givenchy, among others.” (Wikipedia)
• Andre Perugia. Dior worked with footwear designer Perugia before the Delman/Vivier arrangement. “Dior had always worked with the most prominent footwear designer of the time, Andre Perugia” (Wikipedia)
• Bubble dress by Pierre Cardin (1954). Bubble dress (Pierre Cardin) — collaborator for Christian Dior “The house employed Pierre Cardin as head of tailoring for its first three years; it was he who designed one of the most popular Corolla ensembles, the "Bar Suit", which was purchased by buyers worldwide.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Bar au Lido dress by Jacques Fath (1950). Bar au Lido dress (Jacques Fath) — geography for Christian Dior “He was one of the Big Four of 1950s haute couture, the others being Jacques Fath, Pierre Balmain and Jean Dessès.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Jolie Madame by Pierre Balmain (1953). Jolie Madame (Pierre Balmain) — geography for Christian Dior “He was one of the Big Four of 1950s haute couture, the others being Jacques Fath, Pierre Balmain and Jean Dessès.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Sack dress by Cristóbal Balenciaga (1957). Sack dress (Cristóbal Balenciaga) — peer for Christian Dior “He had a reputation as a couturier of uncompromising standards and was referred to as "the master of us all" by Christian Dior and as "the only couturier in the truest sense of the word" by Coco Chanel, who continued, "The others are sim…” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Comma heel by Roger Vivier (1954). Comma heel (Roger Vivier) — collaborator for Christian Dior “For his shoes, Dior initially used the most prominent footwear designer of the time, Perugia, but during the early 1950s he partnered with Delman, who employed Roger Vivier.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Shocking by Elsa Schiaparelli (1937). Shocking (Elsa Schiaparelli) — peer for Christian Dior “While he was recovering, he started sketching fashion and sending the drawings to couture houses; his sketches were purchased by the House of Patou, the House of Worth, and Elsa Schiaparelli, Maggy Rouff, and Edward Molyneux.” (en.wikipedia.org)

Who Christian Dior influenced

• Yves Saint Laurent (1936). Saint Laurent was Dior's assistant and designated successor. (also via Le Smoking) “He was planning his retirement and named his 21 year-old assistant Yves Saint Laurent as his successor.” (Wikipedia)
• Carmel Snow (1919). Snow, a journalist, coined the term that defined Dior's style movement. “Harper's Bazaar editor Carmel Snow called it "The New Look", and the term came to apply to the style of Dior” (Wikipedia)
• Spring/Summer 1997 haute couture collection for Dior by John Galliano (1997). Spring/Summer 1997 haute couture collection for Dior (John Galliano) — legacy for Christian Dior “=== Dior === In October 1996, LVMH moved Galliano to Christian Dior, replacing Italian designer Gianfranco Ferré.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Autumn/Winter 2017 haute couture collection for Dior by Maria Grazia Chiuri (2017). Autumn/Winter 2017 haute couture collection for Dior (Maria Grazia Chiuri) — legacy for Christian Dior “In 2016, Chiuri was appointed artistic director of the women's collections of Christian Dior (haute couture and ready-to-wear), succeeding Raf Simons, the first woman to lead creation at the French house.” (en.wikipedia.org)