We consider Christian Dior, in his own words and the words of those who knew him
In 1947, against the austere backdrop of post-war Paris, Christian Dior debuted his legendary New Look: the now iconic silhouette, inspired by ballerina skirts and the faiytale-femininity of dance, that revived the waist and reinvented glamour. In ten short years, he built an empire which rewrote the shape of fashion and continues to govern design today. "At the time, we felt so starved of glamour,” wrote historian, Antonia Fraser. “And suddenly Dior’s New Look arrives and makes us dream.”
A new book by Natasha Fraser-Cavassoni, Monsieur Dior: Once Upon A Time, takes a candid behind-the-scenes look at the life of the great couturier. Told through the accounts of the friends, editors and clients who knew him best, it travels from his upbringing in Granville, Normandy through to the inner workings of his salons and the history he made there. Memories sit alongside a rich archive of imagery including images the likes of Cecil Beaton, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Lord Snowdon and Willy Maywald. What echoes throughout the book more than anything is Dior’s enduring sense of kindness, professionalism and unusual shyness — from his first brim hat to his last tulle layer. "The showman and the shyman," writes Cavassoni. Here, we pick 10 wonderful quotes from Christian Dior and those at the helm of his fairytale world.
1. Christian Dior, on working at the Lucien Lelong boot camp alongside Pierre Balmain...
“Neither Balmian nor I will ever forget how Lelong taught us our profession in spite of all of the restrictions of wartime and the constant fear of closing.”
Dior was heavily influenced by Lelong's acute business acumen, with his "don’t smell just sell" rhetoric and power of persuasion – it was Lelong who managed to persuade the Nazis not to move all of the couture ateliers to Berlin before the war.
2. Grace Lady Dudley on Dior's signature shade of grey...
“Dior brought that grey back and it was the best. Both modest and luxurious, it set the tone of the house and actually summed up Dior’s character… Humble and charming, he was totally unlike others in the fashion world.”
Dior reinvented the ‘trianon gris’ pearlised grey of the 19th century, which would be a reocurring shade within his collections and continues to be championed by the house today.
3. French aristocrat Jacqueline de Ribes on her experience as one of Dior’s best customers...
“The first thing we tried on was the inner structure, because at Dior, the inner structure was more important than anything… .they were made of double thickness tulle and had whale bones. At the back, there were only hooks so you really needed a lady’s maid or a nimble-fingered husband.”
4. Actress Olivia de Havilland on her first meeting with Dior...
“I have a clear recollection of being introduced to him when he happened to be in one of the fitting rooms, surrounded by lengths of fabric. He was genial, so ebullient, that I was captivated by him.”
5. Actress Ira von Fürstenberg on Dior's unique style...
“The dresses were very tight. True, Dior’s fabric and workmanship was terrific, but few people mention how much men loved Dior. The dresses were sexy. I cannot think of anyone else who did that then.”
6. Christian Dior on courting the media...
“The rules of the game are that you have to reply in the sense expected by your interviewers without being rude. At the slightest chance of difficulty, you change the subject. The act lies in managing to be amusing at the same time, either by what one says or by one’s behaviour.”
7. Françoise Giroud, Elle’s legendary journalist on Dior...
“Dior possessed a smooth face, where only the brown eyes mused. He didn’t undress you with his eyes; he dressed you.”
8. Christian Dior's house rules to journalists attending his show...
“Write all you want, but don’t sketch.”
The fashion house also barred any photographs from being published for three weeks after each collection, to give clients and professional buyers full exclusivity on the desgns.
9. Dior's assistant Yorn Michaelsen on Fouquet, Dior’s favourite confectioner...
“He liked to go there for their almond tarts but would announce that he was just going to look at their shop windows…. Monsieur Dior was exceptionally greedy.”
Dior was well-known to indulge in rich food, and unfortunately this would eventually attribute to his fatal heart attack in 1957, only ten years after he had debuted the New Look.
10. Model Lia Lucas on Dior’s funeral...
“Monsieur Dior’s coffin was covered in lilies of the valley, his favorite flower… Where they found all that lily of the valley in the month of November still intrigues me.”
Dior's funeral was a huge event, attended by an estimated 2,500 people. In tribute to the 52-year old fashion doyen, vast drapes were hung from the church doors, reminiscent of his apartment and dresses.
Monsieur Dior: Once Upon A Time is out now, published by Pointed Leaf Press.
Words by Mhairi Graham
