Christian Dior SE (), commonly known as Dior, is a French multinational corporation of luxury goods company chaired and administered by the head of LVMH, Bernard Arnault. , Dior controlled around 42% of the shares and 57% of the voting rights of LVMH. In addition, the Arnault family held a further 7% of the shares and 8% of the voting rights of LVMH as of that date.
The original fashion house was founded by French designer Christian Dior in 1946 to make items. Clothing is now produced by Christian Dior Couture, which is a subsidiary of LVMH, whereas Christian Dior SE is a holding company that controls LVMH. Bernard Arnault's eldest son, Antoine Arnault, is the CEO of Christian Dior SE. In August 2025, Dior opened its first permanent spa in the United States, housed in its newly renovated House of Dior flagship on Madison Avenue in New York City; designed by Peter Marino, the spa offers personalized skincare diagnostics and advanced treatments such as cryotherapy, microdermabrasion, and LED therapy.
History
Founding
The House of Dior was established on 16 December 1946 at 30 Avenue Montaigne in Paris. However, the current Dior company celebrates 1947 as the opening year. Christian Dior was financially backed by Marcel Boussac, a wealthy businessman. Boussac had originally invited Dior to design for Philippe et Gaston, but Dior refused, wishing to make a fresh start under his own name rather than reviving an old brand. The new couture house became part of "a vertically integrated textile business" already operated by Boussac. When the collection was presented, the editor-in-chief also showed appreciation by saying; "It's quite a revolution, dear Christian!" Along with that, the New Look brought back the spirit of haute couture in France as it was considered glamorous and young-looking. "We were witness to a revolution in fashion and to a revolution in showing fashion as well."
The silhouette was characterized by a small, nipped-in waist and a full skirt falling below mid-calf length, which emphasized the bust and hips, as epitomized by the "Bar" suit from the first collection. The Bar suit was a contribution from the head of Dior's tailoring atelier, a young Pierre Cardin, who was employed by the house from 1947 to 1949. The collection overall showcased more stereotypically feminine designs in contrast to the popular fashions of wartime, with full skirts, tight waists, and soft shoulders. Dior retained some of the masculine aspects, as they continued to hold popularity through the early 1940s, but he also wanted to include more feminine style.
The "New Look" became extremely popular, its full-skirted silhouette influencing other fashion designers well into the 1950s, and Dior gained a number of prominent clients from Hollywood, the United States, and the European aristocracy. As a result, Paris, which had fallen from its position as the capital of the fashion world after World War II, regained its preeminence. The New Look was welcomed in western Europe as a refreshing antidote to the austerity of wartime and de-feminizing uniforms, and was embraced by stylish women such as Princess Margaret in the UK. According to Harold Koda, Dior credited Charles James with inspiring The New Look. Dior's designs from the "New Look" did not only affect the designers in the 1950s, but also more recent designers in the 2000s, including Thom Browne, Miuccia Prada, and Vivienne Westwood. Dior's evening dresses from that time are still referred to by many designers, and they have been seen in different wedding themed catwalks with multiple layers of fabric building up below the small waist (Jojo, 2011). Examples include Vivienne Westwood's Ready-to-Wear Fall/Winter 2011 and Alexander McQueen's Ready to Wear Fall/Winter 2011 (Jojo, 2011).
Not everyone was pleased with the New Look, however. Some considered the amount of material to be wasteful, especially after years of cloth rationing. Feminists in particular were outraged, feeling that these corseted designs were restrictive and regressive, and that they took away a woman's independence. There were several protest groups against the designs including, the League of Broke Husbands, made up of 30,000 men who were against the costs associated with the amount of fabric needed for such designs. Fellow designer Coco Chanel remarked, "Only a man who never was intimate with a woman could design something that uncomfortable." Galliano used the wasp waist and rounded shoulders, modernised and updated with references to origami and other Japanese influences. Simons's work for Dior retained the luxurious fabrics and silhouette, but encouraged self-respect for the woman's body and liberation of expression.
Dior
thumb|right|Dior's store in [[New York City, 2019]]
Available references contradict themselves whether Christian Dior Parfums was established in 1947 or 1948. The Dior company lists the founding of Christian Dior Parfums as 1947, with the launch of its first perfume, Miss Dior. The agreement between Dior and Cox put Australian dressmaking on the global stage, yet ultimately the 60 Dior models proved to be too avant-garde for the conservative Australian taste. Douglas Cox was unable to continue the contract beyond the single 1949 season.
In 1950, Jacques Rouët, the general manager of Dior Ltd, devised a licensing program to place the now-renowned name of "Christian Dior" visibly on a variety of luxury goods.
Dior without Christian Dior: 1957 through the 1970s
The death of the head designer left the House of Dior in chaos, and general manager Jacques Rouët considered shutting down operation worldwide. This possibility was not received graciously by Dior licensees and the French fashion industry; the Maison Dior was too important to the financial stability of the industry to allow such an action. To bring the label back on its feet, Rouët promoted the 21-year-old Yves Saint Laurent to Artistic Director the same year. This choice of a British designer, once again instead of a French one, is said to have "ruffled some French feathers". Arnault himself stated that he "would have preferred a Frenchman", but that "talent has no nationality". The show reflected the growing influence of hip-hop on luxury fashion, drawing inspiration from artists like Lauryn Hill—whose style and music were directly referenced through the soundtrack and runway styling. At the time, hip hop's fascination with luxury logos was increasingly shaping the fashion industry. In previous decades, many artists turned to custom designers like Dapper Dan due to being shut out from major fashion houses. However, by the turn of the millennium, luxury brands such as Dior and Louis Vuitton began embracing logo-heavy aesthetics, giving rise to a phenomenon dubbed "logomania". The show featured models walking in denim, monogram prints, and locs, bridging streetwear aesthetics with Dior's couture identity, ushering in a new era of youth-driven, status-oriented style.
In the same year, Dior's long watch partner Benedom joined the LVMH group. In 2000, Galliano's leadership was extended to ready-to-wear, accessories, advertising and communications. The first campaign under his leadership was photographed by Nick Knight and featured two women simulating intercourse. Like many other brands in the late 1990s, notably Gucci, featured suggestive images in their ads to draw public attention, Dior ads had such an impact that such publicity became a trend in most fashion ads. Galliano ignited the escalation of erotic advertisements, which culminated with Ungaro's zoophilic ads, shot by Mario Sorrenti, and another ad for Gucci that featured a model with pubic hair shaped like the signature Gucci logo. As a matter of fact, it is considered that Galliano had revolutionized Dior more through his advertising campaigns than through his designs.
21st century
On 17 July 2000, Dior Homme lead designer Patrick Lavoix was replaced by Hedi Slimane. Notable Dior releases that year were watches such as the distinctive "Malice", which features bracelets made of "CD" links, as well as the "Riva". John Galliano then began to release his own Dior watches in 2001, beginning with the "Chris 47 Aluminum" line, marking a new era in Dior watch design. Next, the "Malice" and "Riva" watches were redesigned with precious stones to create the "Malice Sparkling" and "Riva Sparkling" spin-off collections. Inspired by the Spring-Summer 2002 Ready-to-Wear collection, Dior released the "Dior 66" watch, breaking many feminine traditional expectations in design.
In 2001, the Dior Homme boutique on 30 Avenue Montaigne reopened with a new "contemporary masculine concept" instilled by its designer Hedi Slimane. Slimane used this concept in the creation of his first Dior Homme collection. The "Chris 47 Steel" watch was released in 2003 as a cousin of the original "Chris 47 Aluminum". Bernard Arnault, Hélène Mercier-Arnault, and Sidney Toledano witnessed the opening of the Dior flagship boutique in the Omotesandō district of Tokyo on 7 December 2003. The second Dior flagship store was opened in the upscale Ginza shopping district of Tokyo in 2004. Before the start of the show, chief executive Sydney Toledano gave a sentimental speech on the values of Christian Dior and alluded to the family's ties to The Holocaust. The show closed with the staff of the atelier coming out to accept applause in the absence of their artistic director. (The previous January 2011 presentation of Spring-Summer 2011 haute-couture was the last appearance of Galliano on the Dior runway.) The company went on ahead and appointed Bill Gaytten as head designer interim in absence of artistic director. Gaytten had worked under Galliano for Dior and for the John Galliano label. The first haute-couture collection (for the Fall-Winter 2011 season) under Gaytten's management was presented in July and was received with mainly negative reviews. Meanwhile, speculation remained for months as it was unknown who would be selected to replace Galliano. During its 13-month period of having no artistic director, Dior began undergoing subtle changes in its designs as the influence of the theatrical and flamboyant Galliano faded. The all-new resigned dior.com was launched in late 2011.