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Dior turns 70

By Don-Alvin Adegeest

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Fashion

The fashion house of Christian Dior turns 70 this year, an incredible achievement from a company founded by its namesake creator just after the second world war.

Dior proved to be a master at creating shapes and silhouettes right from the get-go. He solidified his look featuring fabrics lined predominantly with percale, bustier-style bodices, hip padding, wasp-waisted corsets and petticoats that made his dresses flare out from the waist, giving his models a very curvaceous form. This skirt shape remains one of Dior's iconic designs.

Over the past seven decades the House of Dior has gone through many re-inventions, but has remained a star in parent company LVMH's portfolio. Now creatively helmed by Maria Grazia Chiuri, the former Valentino co-designer is the new artistic director of Christian Dior, alongside Mr Sidney Toledano, the company CEO.

Interestingly, Ms Chiuri is the first woman to be the creative head at Dior. "Who can understand better than a woman the needs of a woman, and express [her] identity today… in the West, in China, wherever in the world?" Toledano told the BBC.

"You don't build a name from nowhere"

About the success of the Maison, Toledano said: "You don't build a name from nowhere". The bedrock of a successful company, at least in the fashion world, is one or more "iconic" products, which can provide a springboard for building a reputation."

These products act as an ambassador for the brand. It can also be almost endlessly re-versioned by a new designer, offering the chance to create something fresh and contemporary, while simultaneously celebrating the brand's heritage.

An example if Dior's Bar jacket, which was first designed in 1947. It has remained an emblematic product ever since, being reinterpreted by the creative directors who followed, such as John Galliano, Raf Simons, and now Maria Grazia Chiuri.

The company will show its autumn winter 2017 ready-to-wear collection during Paris fashion week next month.

Source: BBC

Photo credit:Dior Bar suit, Dior Moscow Exhibition; source: Wikimedia Commons

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