The history of a billion-dollar fashion empire: DIOR

Christian Dior SA is a parent company specializing in designing and selling fashion accessories and beauty products. The company operates through five business groups: Christian Dior Couture, Wines & Spirits, Fashion & Leather Goods, Perfumes & Cosmetics, Watches & Jewelry. The Christian Dior Couture group designs, manufactures, and sells luxury goods. The Fashion & Leather Goods group produces leather bags, shoes, and small leather goods. The Wines & Spirits group produces various types of wines and spirits. The Perfumes & Cosmetics group sells perfumes and cosmetic products. The Watches & Jewelry group designs and sells watches. The company was founded by Christian Dior on October 8, 1946, and is headquartered in Paris, France.

1905 Christian Dior was born in Granville (Normandy, France) on January 21.

1946 With the support of Marcel Boussac, Christian Dior established his own high fashion house in a private mansion at 30, Avenue Montaigne in Paris.

1947 On February 12, Christian Dior introduced 90 models in his first collection with six mannequins. The “Corolle” and “Huit” lines quickly evolved into the “New Look”.

Parfums Christian Dior was established, headed by Serge Heftler Louiche.

Dior named his first perfume “Miss Dior” in honor of his sister Catherine.

Pierre Cardin began working at Christian Dior as the “head” of the workshop. He remained there until 1950.

1948 In November, a luxurious ready-to-wear fashion showroom was established in New York at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street, the first of its kind.

Christian Dior Parfums New York was created.

1949 The fragrance “Diorama” was launched. By marketing Dior in the United States, the brand established a licensing system.

1950 License for ties. All accessories followed suit. Within three years, this system would be copied by all high-end fashion houses.

1952 The Christian Dior brand strengthened its presence in Europe by establishing Christian Dior Models Limited in London.

Agreement with House of Youth in Sydney for exclusive models of Christian Dior New York.

Exclusive agreement with Los Gobelinos in Santiago, Chile for Christian Dior Paris Haute Couture collections.

1955 At the age of 19, Yves Saint Laurent became the first and only assistant to Christian Dior.

Opening of the Grande Boutique at the corner of Avenue Montaigne and Rue François Ier.

Launch of Dior lipstick. A line of beauty products would follow.

1957 Christian Dior suffered a heart attack while convalescing in Montecatini on October 24. Yves Saint Laurent was named to provide artistic direction for the brand.

1960 Called up for military service, Yves Saint Laurent left Dior after completing six collections. Marc Bohan succeeded him. He was 34 years old.

1961 Marc Bohan introduced his first collection, “Slim Look,” under the Dior label.

1962 Yves Saint Laurent opened his own high fashion store.

1963 Launch of the fragrance “Diorling”.

1966 Launch of the men’s fragrance “Eau Sauvage”.

1967 Philippe Guibourgé, Marc Bohan’s assistant, created the “Miss Dior” line, the first ready-to-wear product line for women from Dior in France.

Opening of the “Baby Dior” store.

1968 Launch of the Christian Dior Coordinated Knits line.

Dior perfume company sold to Moët Hennessy.

Frédéric Castet took over management of the Fur Fashion Department – Christian Dior Paris.

1970 Creation of the Christian Dior Monsieur line. At Parly II, a new Dior store decorated by Gae Aulenti.

1972 Launch of the fragrance “Diorella”.

1973 The ready-to-wear fur collection designed in France would later be produced under license in the United States, Canada, and Japan.

1978 The Marcel Boussac Group went bankrupt, and its assets, under the authorization of the Paris Commercial Court, were purchased by the Willot Group.

1979 Launch of the fragrance “Dioressence”.

1980 Launch of the men’s fragrance “Jules”.

1981 The Willot Group declared bankruptcy.

1984 A group of investors, led by Bernard Arnault, took control of the former Willot Group.

1985 Bernard Arnault became Chairman and CEO of Christian Dior. Launch of the fragrance “Poison”.

1987 The Paris Fashion Museum dedicated an exhibition to Christian Dior, commemorating the 50th anniversary of his first collection.

1988 Through the subsidiary Jacques Rober, established jointly with the Guinness group, Christian Dior held a 32% stake in LVMH’s share capital. Christian Dior’s share capital was offered to institutional investors in France and abroad, raising it to 3.3 billion francs in a private placement.

1989 Gianfranco Ferré joined Christian Dior as the creator of high-end fashion collections, ready-to-wear, and accessories for women. His first Haute Couture collection won the Dé d’Or award. Opening of a store in Hawaii. Jacques Rober’s stake in LVMH was increased to 44%.

1990 Opening of stores in Los Angeles and New York. LVMH’s stake was increased to 46%.

1991 Christian Dior’s stock was listed on the Paris stock market for immediate delivery and then on the monthly settlement market. Launch of the fragrance “Dune”.

1992 Patrick Lavoix was appointed Creative Director of “Christian Dior Monsieur”. Launch of the fragrance “Miss Dior”.

1994 The amendments to the agreements with Guinness increased Christian Dior’s consolidated shareholding in LVMH from 24.5% to 41.6%.

1995 The Couture line was transferred to a wholly-owned subsidiary company called “Christian Dior Couture”.

1996 John Galliano became the creative director of Christian Dior Couture.

1997 Christian Dior Couture took over the network of 13 commercial agencies licensed by Kanebo, Japan.

1998 Christian Dior Couture took over the direct marketing of ready-to-wear clothing and accessories for women in Japan after terminating the licensing agreement with Kanebo.

1999 Launch of the fragrance “J’adore”.

Establishment of a new business group, Fine Jewelry, with collections created by Victoire de Castellane.

2001 In January 2001, Hedi Slimane, the new creative director of the “Homme” line, introduced his first collection based on a new contemporary masculinity concept.

Launch of the men’s fragrance “Higher”.

Opening of the Fine Jewelry store at Place Vendôme, supervised by Victoire de Castellane.

2002 Launch of the fragrance “Addict”.

2003 Opening of a flagship store in Omotesando (Tokyo).

2004 Opening of a flagship store in Ginza (Tokyo).

2005 Centennial celebration of Christian Dior’s birth.

Launch of the fragrance “Miss Dior Chérie” and “Dior Homme”.

2006 Christian Dior Couture took over the operations of a Moscow agency and opened a store in the GUM department store.

2007 60th anniversary celebration of Maison Dior’s establishment (1947). Kris Van Assche, the new creative director of the men’s clothing line, introduced his first collections.

2008 A major exhibition was held in Beijing, featuring Chinese artists, to commemorate the brand’s entry into the Chinese market.

2009 New online advertising campaign for Lady Dior handbags featuring Marion Cotillard.

2010 An event was held in Shanghai to commemorate the expansion and reopening of the store in the Plaza 66 shopping center.

2011 The Inspiration Dior exhibition was held in Moscow at the Pushkin Museum.

2012 Raf Simons was appointed artistic director of the high-end fashion accessories, ready-to-wear, and women’s accessories collections.

2013 Introduction of Raf Simons’ first collection and opening of stores in Vietnam.

In March 2015 Rihanna was chosen as the official spokesperson for Dior, making her the first black woman to hold the position at Dior.

2015 Israeli model Sofia Mechetner was chosen as the new face of Dior.

Launch of Dior Sauvage fragrance.

2016 Maria Grazia Chiuri was appointed as the artistic director of Dior.

In April 2016, a new flagship store of Dior opened in San Francisco, with a party hosted by Jaime King.

In 2017 Dior renovated and expanded its store in Madrid. The brand held the grand opening of the new store in a masked ball attended by several Spanish celebrities like Alejandro Gómez Palomo.

In March 2018 Kim Jones was appointed as the men’s artistic director for the fashion house. Under his leadership, Dior has executed several high-profile streetwear fashion collaborations. Jones first collaborated with the American artist and designer Brian Donnelly, also known as KAWS. This was followed by collaborations with Raymond Pettibon, 1017 ALYX 9SM, Yoon Ahn, Hajime Sorayama, Daniel Arsham, and most recently Shawn Stussy, the creator of the legendary streetwear brand Stüssy.