From Christian Dior to Anderson

Christian Dior launched his label in December 1946. For the last several years of his life, Dior dedicated himself to his maison, laying the groundwork and foundation for the French luxury fashion house.

Dior retained complete control of the maison during his time as creative director. Following the events of World War II, Dior introduced the controversial New Look, characterized by full, A-line skirts, cinched waists and rounded shoulders. The designs were uniquely feminine and evoked the shifting cultural norms of the post-World War II era in Europe and America.

During his time as creative director, Dior began the fragrance division of his label. In 1953, Dior introduced the fashion house’s first lipstick, Dior Rouge, solidifying the maison’s growing stature in the fashion and beauty world. In 1957, Dior died of a heart attack. He was 52 years old.

Following Dior’s sudden death in 1957, chief executive office of the brand Jacques Rouët considered shutting down the maison completely. Yves Saint Laurent had been working for Dior over the course of the maison’s first few years, first as an assistant and then as director of the atelier, and so Saint Laurent became the French fashion house’s new creative director and pushed the boundaries of the established New Look.

Catering to youth culture, Saint Laurent’s few collections emphasized the bohemian movement, which surprised French fashion circles. He left the label in 1960 to found his own, equally iconic, fashion house in 1961.

Marc Bohan took over Dior in 1960 following Yves Saint Laurent’s departure. Bohan’s tenure in the role lasted nearly 30 years, during which time he completely revitalized the maison. In 1967, Bohan collaborated with designer Philippe Guibourgé on Dior’s first ready-to-wear collection. Bohan also crafted the Dior Oblique pattern introduced in the late 1960s and created the first iteration of what is now known as Dior Homme.

Bohan’s designs were more conservative, catering to the initial collections and fashion crafted by Christian Dior. Bohan left Dior in 1989 for Norman Hartnell in London. He worked for the label until 1992 and then designed briefly under his own name.

“I make clothes for real women, not myself, not for mannequins and not for fashion magazines,” he said in an interview with WWD on the occasion of his 25th anniversary at Dior. “I gladly leave the abstract creations to others.”

Bernard Arnault acquired the textile and retail conglomerate Boussac Saint-Frères, which included the brand Christian Dior, in 1984. In 1989, Arnault selected Italian designer Gianfranco Ferrè for the creative director role after Marc Bohan’s abrupt departure.

With Ferrè, a sophisticated palette was integrated into Dior’s designs, with numerous couture collections during Ferrè’s tenure as creative director. Among his notable accomplishments, Ferrè is credited with the design of the Lady Dior bag, which debuted in 1994 and was popularized by the likes of Princess Diana.

Ferrè left the maison in 1997 to focus on his own label. He died at the age of 62 in 2007.

Arnault appointed British designer John Galliano as the creative director of Dior following Gianfranco Ferré’s departure. Galliano brought with him a new pop sensibility to the maison, electrifying Dior with a newfound sensibility that brought kinetic energy to the runway shows, collections and campaign of the late ’90s and early-to-late aughts.

Galliano’s haute couture and ready-to-wear collections received critical acclaim upon their respective debuts, and also generated controversy. Among his accomplishments, the creation of the early 2000s Dior Saddle Bag was one of his most notable.

Galliano left the brand in 2011, after he was found guilty of levying anti-semitic slurs during an incident in 2010. He was subsequently fired from his role as creative director at Dior. He has since worked with Oscar de la Renta and Maison Margiela, stepping down late last year.

During Galliano’s tenure as creative director, Hedi Slimane served as the designer behind Dior Homme. Slimane was responsible for giving menswear a new look and feel, juxtaposing classic tailored pieces with an edgier, creative energy.

Slimane also introduced oversized tailoring and played with proportions during his time with the maison between 2000 to 2006.

“I always kept in mind the precedence of some designers I admire who were in a similar situation, and chose the other path,” Slimane told WWD in 2007.

Overlapping with John Galliano, but lasting beyond the designer’s tenure, Kris Van Assche served as the creative director of Dior Homme from 2007 until 2018.

Van Assche took Slimane’s borderline punk aesthetic and streamlined designs with subtle references to streetwear design that the maison would later refine.

Van Assche also brought in new collaborators to Dior Homme, including A$AP Rocky, Radiohead and more, thereby broadening Dior’s reach and maintaining the luxury fashion house’s cultural relevance.

With Raf Simons’ appointment to the maison, he brought newfound modernity to Dior. Simons’ first couture show with the French luxury fashion house coincided with the release of the documentary “Dior and I,” from which Simons found inspiration for the collection.

Despite his success with the maison, Simons opted to leave Dior in 2015. “It is after careful and long consideration that I have decided to leave my position as creative director of Christian Dior’s women’s collection,” Simons said in a statement in 2015. “It is a decision based entirely and equally on my desire to focus on other interests in my life, including my own brand, and the passions that drive me outside my work. Christian Dior is an extraordinary company, and it has been an immense privilege to write a few pages of this magnificent book. I want to thank Mr. Bernard Arnault for the trust he has put in me, giving me the incredible opportunity to work at this beautiful house surrounded by the most amazing team one could ever dream of. I have also had the chance over the last few years to benefit from the leadership of Sidney Toledano. His thoughtful, heartfelt and inspired management will also remain as one of the most important experiences of my professional career.”

Simons has since worked with his own label, Calvin Klein and is now co-creative director at Prada with Miuccia Prada.

Maria Grazia Chiuri made history in 2016 as the first woman ever appointed to lead the atelier for Dior’s women’s ready to wear and couture collections. Chirui’s collections have brought renewed popularity to the maison, merging her feminist sensibilities with a youthful aesthetic to attract younger names and help Dior embark on its next chapter.

Chiuri’s couture collection also brought a return to form, featuring classic silhouettes and styling.

“I really work all the time on the relationship between the Dior codes and women’s bodies, how to put these elements in dialogue,” she told WWD in 2023.

In 2018, Kim Jones was appointed creative director of Dior Homme, bringing a newfound youthful energy to the designer. Jones brought a lively energy to the label that contrasted with Kris Van Assche. Pop became a style sensibility and source of inspiration for Jones, adding an invigorated sense of purpose to his collections. Jones stepped down from his role as creative director for Dior Homme in January 2025.

“Dior needs newness to recapture market attention,” analyst Luca Solca, head of global luxury goods at Bernstein, told WWD last January, saying Jones’ exit was “a step in the right direction.”

Following his more than 10-year tenure as the creative director of Loewe, Jonathan Anderson was appointed as the new menswear designer for Dior, slated to present his first collection for the French luxury fashion house in June 2025. The announcement came during a shareholders’ meeting on April 17. Bernard Arnault, the longtime chief executive officer of LVMH, made the announcement. Anderson also is expected to eventually take the reins of the women’s collections as well, succeeding Maria Grazia Chiuri.