Christian Dior was born in Normandy, France in 1905.  He moved with his parents to Paris at age ten.  Dior eventually studied political science and fulfilled his military obligation.  Then in 1935 Dior began to sell his sketches and move into the fashion world.  The designer Robert Piquet hired Dior in 1938.  In 1946, Dior moved up to a much larger fashion house called Lucien Lelong.  Financially backed by a textile house, Dior began his own line in 1946.  Yves Saint-Laurent became Dior’s assistant and would take over as head designer after Dior’s young death in 1957.

Dior transformed broken, postwar Paris into the fashion capital of the world.  He brought relief from stiff, military uniforms.  Dior introduced fashion with beautifully feminine details and luxurious fabrics.  Christian Dior only designed for his own house for ten years, but he made a permanent mark on the fashion industry.