CHRISTIAN DIOR PROFILE
“Women have instinctively understood that I dream of making them not
only more beautiful, but also happier.” (Vogue On Christian Dior).
Through his career Christian Dior certainly can. Born in Granville,
Normandy in 1905, he was the son of a wealthy fertiliser manufacturer
and was one of five children. At aged five, his family moved to Paris- the
fashion capital. Always artistically inclined, his fashion career began
when he did sketches on the street to make pocket money. Before being
called up to war in 1940, Dior worked with fashion designer Robert
Piguet. At the end of his service in 1942, he began working for couturier
Lucien Long, where he and Pierre Balmain were the primary designers.
He founded the house of Christian Dior on December 16, 1946 at 30
Avenue Montaigne Paris, backed by Marcel Boussac, a cotton-fabric
magnate. On February 12, 1947 he launched his debut collection.
Presenting 90 different looks, the lines were named “Corolle” and “Huit.”
(All from Vogue.co.uk). It was Harper’s Bazaar editor, Carmel Snow
who pronounced Dior’s style “the new look.” (library book- Dior, 2012,
pg. 27). In 1948 he launched his ready to wear house on the corner of
New York City’s 5th Avenue and 57th street. On October 24th,1957,
Dior died of a fatal heart attack leaving the fashion house under the
design control of Yves Saint Laurent (Vogue.co.uk).
John Galliano
JOHN GALLIANO
Born in 1960 to a Spanish mother and Gibraltarian father, John Galliano
was surrounded by a veracious Spanish culture for the first 6 years of his
life. Living in an environment that was packed with colour, textiles,
design and prints, his creativity was ignited young. In 1969 he and his
family moved to London (Galliano, Biography on bio). Galliano says of
the move, “I will never forget the change in colors, clothes, and culture…
The idea of cultures colliding is something that continues to inform the
way I work, research, and create.” (Voguepedia). Although bullied in
school, he found his sanctuary when he began attending design school, St
Martins. In 1992 he moved to Paris where he caught the attention of
Anna Wintour and Andre Leon Talley. They helped him create his first
show in October 1993. It was a success and in 1994, LVMH made
Galliano the head design at Givenchy. He was then promoted to head of
Dior. In 2011 however, Galliano had a turn for the worst. Drunk in a
Paris café he was caught making anti-Semitic and racist comments. He
was dismissed from Dior and entered rehab. His fall from fashion was
large, but there is no doubt his creativity will prevail (Voguepedia).
RAF SIMONS
Raf Simmons was born in Belgium in 1968. He is known for having a
unique, polished and modern aesthetic. Simons went from industrial and
furniture designer to menswear designer when he created his first
collection in 1995. In 2005 after many successes in his own label, he was
appointed creative director of Jill Sander. Simmons won the Swiss
Textiles Award in 2003 and also created an on going collaboration with
Fred Perry in 2008. In February 2012, it was announced that he was
leaving Jil Sanders. In April 2012 his appointment as Dior Creative
Director was confirmed (all from Vogue.co.uk).
ABOUT DIOR THE BRAND
Christian Dior is one of the leading luxury brands in the couture
world. It is a design house that is constantly pushing boundaries
for its time, place and context. Dior’s very first collection in
1947 demonstrates this. The curvaceous and voluptuous
collection shows the key Dior characteristic of daringness. The
collection “Profile Lines” was the opposite of masculine
wartime fashions, featuring featured sloping shoulders, a full
bust, cinched waist,
(http://www.kci.or.jp/archives/digital_archives/detail_161_e.ht
ml.), longer- length stiffened skirts, ruffled necklines, brocade,
furs and lace (Brickell Article, pg 243).
This first collection
cemented the Dior DNA in place- feminine, elegant and bold.
The brand also has a chic, “French” aesthetic due to Dior’s
original nationalist cultural agenda. After World War 2, he
wanted to reassert Paris’ cultural importance in fashion,
demonstrating that France, not America, was the ultimate source
of creativity (Dior- library book).
Christian Dior moreover has a high brand image. Howard
(1994) defines brand image as the as consumers total
understanding of the brand. It consist of three components
1. Brand recognition- the physical characteristics by which the
customer recognizes the brand.
2. Attitude- the strength of the brand on each of the relevant
benefits on a favourable/unfavourable scale as judged by the
consumer.
3. Confidence- the strength of the consumer’s
feelings about their ability to determine accurately the quality of
the brand.
This model provides a framework to demonstrate Christian
Dior’s high brand image. For example, the original Dior
collection was of very high brand recognition. The “New Look”
and it’s shape were of course completely distinguishable from
any of the current war time fashions. Dior created such a fashion
revolution that the strong flared, pleated skirt, high firm bust
and small waisted jackets (Vogue on Christian Dior) are still
recognized by consumers in the 21st century simply through one
photo. Secondly, as the first collection also shows, consumers
judge the brand benefits very favorably. The benefits of New
Look pieces to women included recreating a feminine, Victorian
style of dressing, highlighting a woman’s body features and the
simple functional benefit of clothing to wear.
Confidence in the quality of the Dior brand has grown over time
through the development of Dior’s brand personality. Brand
personality is as a set of human characteristics associated with a
brand. These include gender, age, socioeconomic class and
human personality traits such as warmth, kindness and
sentimentality. The Dior personality therefore links itself to
emotions such a pleasure, confidence, honesty, authenticy and
uniqueness. Because Dior is a hedonistic brand, linking it's
personality to emotion rather than logic is effective. Upshow
(1995) says of emotional links “they reflect the feelings people
have about brands, and the way those brands transmit feelings
back to them.” Dior’s strong emotive personality is a strong
competitive advantage as it creates and sustains brand loyalty.
Brand loyalty is when consumers have confidence in a label to
want to keeping purchasing from it (Whole paragraph from
Fashion Brand Image Marketing, pg. 62-63).
Those most loyal consumers therefore were and are still
clients of North America. When Dior introduced the New Look,
France and Europe were still negatively effected by the wartime
economic crisis and consumer restrictions and rationing. In
Europe the new style was controversial with New Liberty
Magazine stating, “in style-conscious Paris only models and
wealthy society women could afford to wear it.” In Russia the
look was banned as an “example of the deterioration of
American capitalism.” (Dior, pg. 29). America however, was far
better off financially, thus clients became those from North
American: Hollywood stars, New York socialites and
department store buyers. Here is where the classic and ideal
image of the 1950’s American housewife wearing a glamourous
full skirted dress during her days at home began.
Above all the Christian Dior brand is about making women
feel extravagantly and unblushingly womanly. This truly
underpins the brand and is perhaps why Collete states in 1947,
“it took one swish of the hips and America was won.” (Vogue
On Dior, pg. 35).
DIOR COLLECTION ANALYSIS
The “Bar” suit is a key look in the Dior Spring/Summer 1947
Haute Couture collection. It represents the collection's dominant
characteristics- sloped shoulders, articulated busts, nipped
waists and padded hips (see the gallery to the left for photos).
Designed at the end of World War 2, it signified the return to
femininity after the war's masculinity and utilitarianism in
which women took up “men’s” jobs. The suit demonstrates a
number of social complexities. World War 2 bought women job
opportunities and the possibility of emancipation. However, it
also bought austerity, shortages and rationing on consumer
items, with many wanted a return to luxury. Hence, there was a
conflict between whether women should continue their
progression in the public sphere or return to domesticity,
focusing their energies towards looking attractive for their
returning soldiers.
Feminists historians often see the Bar suit, which emphasis the
bust and hips, as symbolising the woman's retreat to the sphere
of the home. The suit’s wasp waist constrains freedom of
movement to wearers. To create the small waist, the Bar suit
employs restrictive undergarments including bodices and
corsets. Therefore, from a feminist point of view the New Look
highlighted that men were still the dominant sex in the work
force as the tight waist didn’t allow women to perform the
rigorous war work anymore and was far more suited to
housework. To an extent, the suit sexualises women as it
reinforces that her job is simply to look beautiful for her
husband.
It is also argued that the Bar Suit contributed to the “disciplined
body.” Since it took a certain body type to fit into the Bar suit,
this concept began to appear in many advertisements. Beauty
and fashion campaigns told women to reshape and restrain their
bodies becoming “glamorous”, “lovely” and “elegant” lady
instead of a “dram housewife.” The Bar Suit also supported
magazine and advertising titles such as “femininity begins in the
home” and “in search of beauty?”. The advertisements, which
accompanied the Bar Suit emphasized regimes of female body
disciple including, “Give yourself a “new look” with the new
Alfred Jenkins Body Culture Course’ (NZHJ, 1948b: 29).” The
promised outcomes included ‘loss of ugly fat’, formation of
‘body contours’ and ‘a firm and shapely bosom.” Feminists
theorists, argue that these sexualised and image focused
messages became so ingrained in society through magazine and
brand advertisements that power was once again being exerted
over women to conform, particularly their bodies. However,
power was coming from below through the process of this idea
becoming normalisation. This demonstrates the immense power
the Bar Suit had in shaping womens' roles after WW2. Thus,
began the movement of women back to the home- this allowed
them time to undertake such disciple and be a refined but highly
feminine and attractive housewife or young lady (WHOLE
PARA from Amazing dior article).
For all it’s criticism however, the Bar Suit was bold,
outrageous and popular for the time. Women enjoyed and
gained pleasure from wearing the pieces designed by Christian.
The new look was revolutionary and shocking, but in a
beautiful, elegant and form fitting way. When thought of as
simply clothing, the Bar Suit is a hedonic purchase which
bought joy and contentment. Dior at heart is bold, pleasurable
and feminine. The New Look Bar Suit shows this perfectly.
JOHN GALLIANO COLLECTION ANALYSIS
John Galliano began his time at Dior in 1997 and in essence
turned Dior on it’s head. His designs were dramatically different
to the aesthetic of other Dior creative directors. To a degree
however, this daringness does connect with Dior’s DNA as
shown by Christian’s own boldness during his times.
One Ready-To-Wear collection that demonstrates Galliano’s
similarities and differences is the Dior Fall/Winter Ready-ToWear Collection (see gallery to the left for collection photos). In
reviewing this collection, Style.com states, “Galliano turned to
global ravers, fabulous hip-hop queens and Irish-gypsy boxers à
la Brad Pitt's character in Snatch for inspiration.” The collection
includes pinstripe suits with leather and flower-print front
plackets, neo check blazers, leather overcoats, rakish hats, and
matching colorful foulard wide leg pants and light weight rain
coat style jackets. The silhouettes of the pantsuits and maxi
dresses and skirts are loose fitting, streamlined and flowing.
Thus, to an extent Galliano drifts from the Dior brand
personality. Although contextually daring and boundary
pushing, particularly in terms of colour and print, Galliano
makes no connection to the words of “elegant” and “womanly”
originally termed to describe Dior. Instead he injects too much
of his own self into the collection. Galliano’s inspiration
includes romantic, dramatic and Spanish themes (Galliano Bio
Channel). This is evident in the 2001 collection through the
theatrical and flamboyant colour and print combinations, dark
and fantasy like make up and gypsie, globe trotting hat choices.
Although at the time, Dior’s New Look collection wasn’t seen
to be dreamy and timeless, as consumers we now associate these
ideas of femininity with Dior. Thus, in paving a new, more
modern aesthetic Galliano forgets this to an extent.
Another similarity that has perhaps shifted too far from the
original Dior DNA is ideas of sex shown in Galliano’s 2001
collection. As discussed, the New Look emphasized a woman’s
curves in a highly sexual way for the times. It was almost
scandalous. Galliano does not emphasize the womanly figure,
but instead undertones and small details make the collection
sexual and vulgar. These details include sheer fabrics, low cut vnecklines and underwear worn over the top of flared pants. The
make up worn is also sexually eccentric and outlandish, as with
the models austere attitude. On the other hand, contextually our
society more bold and creative sexually. Thus, to an extent both
Dior and Galliano show similar sexual nuisances that shock
audiences.
Galliano's daringness, did however develop the brand. This
collection particularly demonstrates his rewarding
commercialization of the brand. The "Boom box" bags, large
circular cases, denim saddle totes and metallic lunchboxes
bought in tremendous amounts of money at Dior boutiques
worldwide (Style.com). This “bling fabulous” aesthetic was
hugely popular in the late 90’s and early noughties. During this
time, a recovery of the world economy had occurred and more
individuals had disposable incomes. They began possessing
snobbery, wanting to show off their status and wealth. Wearing
a label or logo was prominent way to do this. Hence, as this
flashy, gaudy and and “rock star” like image became
synonymous with Dior (Ft.com), fabulous status pieces like the
“boom box” bag gave Dior new strength in the fashion market,
particularly amongst younger western consumers.
RAFE SIMONS COLLECTION ANALYSIS
Raf Simons says the following of his Dior Autumn/Winter 2013
Ready to Wear Collection, “My desire is to connect the future
and history together... I also like the juxtaposition of two
worlds.” There is no doubt that Simons has achieved this desire.
Unlike, Galliano, Simons connects Dior back to iconic
silhouettes and references but makes them modern, dynamic and
energetic (see gallery to the left for collection photos).
Simons firstly achieves his link through his architectural design
references, including the strong peplums, origami shape, full
skirts, pea coats, bustiers and “new look” frock coats. These
architectural references show links to Christian’s designs, as
both Simons and Christian have industrial design backgrounds
which influence their work (My Uber Life.com). The influence
of art is also present, shown by cool and contemporary
references to Andy Warhol. Warhol's spidery shoe drawings
were embossed on bags and his portraits of women create made
ladylike details on peplum tops or bustier dresses. These Warhol
details are also presented on what Simons calls “memory
dresses.” This is fitting as the silk dresses not only connect to
Warhol’s “fugue state of reverie” but to the elegance and
sophistication of the New Look pieces. The dresses in this
collection and Dior 1947 present a woman who is strong and
modern in her time, but also possesses sensitivity and delicacy
as the Warhol influence suggests (Style.com).
Simons modernizes other key Dior pieces too. Dior’s full,
nipped waist skirts are translated though leather and dramatic
embroidery. Houndstooth is shown through chic bustiers and
structured mid length skirts and the Bar Jacket is modernly
presented with on trend navy and charcoal wide leg pants
(Style.com). Simons keeps the Dior heritage but modernizes the
pieces to still be minimalist and wearable. Simons states he
achieved this through an “attitude gesture… There were several
couture dresses for example that we cut off on a top/mini dress
length to be worn with pants.” This attitude change makes
pieces less dated and more dynamic.
A difference to the New Look, is that Simons wanted to give
women movement and practicality in the clothes. Bringing the
designs into modern times and away from the feminist view that
the New Look made women passive, Simons states, the attitude
changes “doesn’t make it this ‘don’t touch only look’ situation.”
(MyUberlife.com). This demonstrates contextual awareness for
our times. Women of 2013 are just as dominant as men in the
public sphere and workplace, thus clothing needs to be simple
and minimalist. However, females also now extremely style
savvy and smart consumers, thus want unique fashion pieces.
Simons’ links to Warhol and beautifully chic silhouettes achieve
this perfectly.
THE DESIGN PROCESS
Without a design process, audiences would never see a finished
runway production. For designers like Raf Simmons, the
process must be strategic and deliberate to create a successful
collection. Thus, the first step Simons would take is researching
the Dior history and archives. Looking at the past creates
inspiration and direction. It allows designers to understand and
maintain brand personality, creating consumer loyalty. It also
allows designers to develop a concept that either continues the
brand story or re-brands it, selling to new consumers. Simons
after the reign of Galliano and his slightly more vulgar take on
Dior, chose to re-invent the past looks of Dior’s original 1947
collection, using the Bar Suit as particular inspiration.
Simons would also look at other sources of inspiration. In the
Autumn/Winter 2013 collection the most prominent source is
Andy Warhol references.
Secondly, Simons would have to research and evaluate our
economic, political social and cultural environment. In order to
make profits and sustain a business, designers, although being
creative, must still meet the needs and wants of current
consumers. Thus, it is necessary to take in current trends and
whether consumers want quality investment pieces or fast
moving trend pieces. Because of the recent Global Financial
Crisis and the fast emerging environmental concept of being less
wasteful and more ethical with fashion, consumers are showing
an interest in investment pieces. Simons’ clean lined, precise
and timeless designs show how he taps into this.
Thirdly, Simons would have to assess competitor brands and
their previous collections and consumers. He would also need to
look at Dior’s past sales, budgets and expenditure.
Once a theme has been decided upon, the choice of colour and
fabric is of high importance. Fabric choice and print design must
be unique for luxury designer houses. Simons would therefore
create the patterns himself, not simply buy them from a milliner.
He would work with his own independent milliner and be
heavily involved with those actually making the textiles. Some
of the fabrics chosen in his latest collection include tweed,
leather and silk.
In physically creating the garment and putting it together,
Simon’s must decide on which process to use- modellists (which
consists of draping the fabrics over models), sketching,
illustrations or the use of a toile (a version of a garment used to
test the pattern).
One of the final and most important stages in creating a
collection is the production of the runway show. Stylists and
hair and makeup artists must be hired. Makeup design and
hairstyling must be connected to the themes of the collection.
Press releases would be sent out to all major media outlets in
order to gather publicity and hype.
Overall, although a long and very detailed process, the fabulous
Dior collections we love so dearly would never come to life.