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Dior

Christian Dior SE (French: [kʁistjɑ̃ djɔʁ]),[1] commonly known as Dior (stylized DIOR), is a French multinational luxury fashion house[2] controlled and chaired by French businessman Bernard Arnault, who also heads LVMH. Dior holds 42.36% shares and 59.01% of voting rights within LVMH.[6][7]

This article is about the company. For the designer, see Christian Dior. For other uses, see Dior (disambiguation).

Company type

16 December 1946 (1946-12-16)

210

Worldwide

Increase €79.18 billion (2022)[4]

Increase €20.99 billion (2022)[4]

Increase €14.70 billion (2022)[4]

Increase €131.9 billion (2022)[4]

Increase €54.31 billion (2022)[4]

196,006 (2022)[4]

  • Christian Dior Couture[5]

The company was founded in 1946 by French fashion designer Christian Dior. Haute couture is under the Christian Dior Couture division. Delphine Arnault has been the CEO of Christian Dior Couture since 2023.[8]

History[edit]

Founding[edit]

The House of Dior was established on 16 December 1946[9][5] at 30 Avenue Montaigne in Paris. However, the current Dior corporation celebrates "1947" as the opening year.[5] Dior was financially backed by wealthy businessman Marcel Boussac.[5][10] 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.[11] The new couture house became a part of "a vertically integrated textile business" already operated by Boussac.[10] Its capital was at FFr 6 million and workforce at 80 employees.[10] The company was really a vanity project for Boussac and was a "majorly owned affiliate of Boussac Saint-Freres S.A. Nevertheless, Dior was allowed a then-unusual great part in his namesake label (legal leadership, a non-controlling stake in the firm, and one-third of pretax profits) despite Boussac's reputation as a "control freak". Dior's creativity also negotiated him a good salary.[10]

Criticism[edit]

2000s[edit]

In 2000, Galliano's collection inspired by homeless people drew criticism, but also attention, to the house of Dior.[133]

2010s[edit]

In early 2011, scandal arose when John Galliano was accused of making antisemitic comments after drinking in Paris. Footage was released of the designer under the influence of alcohol saying "I love Hitler" and "People like you would be dead today. Your mothers, your forefathers would be fucking gassed and dead" to a non-Jewish woman.[134] In France, it is against the law to make antisemitic remarks, and is punishable by up to six months in prison.[134] On 1 March 2011, Christian Dior officially announced that it had fired Galliano amidst the controversy.[135]

2022[edit]

In the context of the Russian full-scale invasion and Russia’s terroristic actions in Ukraine, Dior took several measures. Dior's parent company, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, said it would "temporarily close [their] stores in Russia and pause all [their] commercial activities." LVMH brands include Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, and Moët & Chandon. The decision affects 120 stores and 3,500 employees.[136]


In November 2022, Dior launched a Cruise 2023 collection. The photos from the campaign were shared on the official brand's accounts on social media. "Come away with Dior this holiday season and uncover the piercing silhouettes from the #DiorCruise 2023 collection by @MariaGraziaChiuri. White lace dresses and iconic models like the 'Bar' jacket meet enticing accessories like the #DiorBookTote and #DiorTribales earrings for a dreamy collection of pieces," — is said in the description.[137] The photographs showcase models in Russian clothes' attributes on a typical Russian landscape, which caused much controversy in the media.


The comments under Dior posts on social media feature people arguing about the motives of the campaign.[137] On the one side, people supported the brand and thanked it for the support of Russian culture. On the other side, the arguments claimed that supporting a culture that, in the meantime, kills another culture (via conducting massive missile attacks on civil infrastructure, performing numerous acts of terrorism, killing civilians, and destroying Ukrainian culture) is an unethical decision at least.

Plagiarism and cultural appropriation controversies[edit]

2017[edit]

In 2017, Dior was accused of cultural appropriation by directly plagiarizing a Bihor coat, a traditional Romanian vest, by using the same colour and patterns in its pre-fall collection; Dior had presented it as their original designs without giving any credit to the people of Bihor nor crediting the Romanian people as source of inspiration.[138][139] As a result, Romanian people were outraged and to fight against this cultural appropriation, a campaign was launched by Romanian fashion magazine Beau Monde who then recruited native craftsmen and fashion designers from Bihor to create a new line of fashion.[138] The cover of the Beau Monde magazine read:[139]

Ownership and shareholdings[edit]

At the end of 2010, the only declared major shareholder in Christian Dior S.A. was Groupe Arnault SAS, the family holding company of Bernard Arnault. The group's control amounted to 69.96% of Dior's stock and 82.86% of its voting rights.[156] The remaining shares are considered free float.[156]


Christian Dior S.A. held 42.36% of the shares of LVMH and 59.01% of its voting rights at the end of 2010. Arnault held an additional 5.28% of shares and 4.65% of votes directly.[6]

– 1946–1957

Christian Dior

– 1957–1960

Yves Saint Laurent

– 1960–1989

Marc Bohan

– 1989–1997

Gianfranco Ferré

– 1997–2011

John Galliano

– 2011–2012

Bill Gaytten

– 2012–2015

Raf Simons

2015–2016

Serge Ruffieux & Lucie Meier

(women's) – 2016–present

Maria Grazia Chiuri

(men's) – 2000–2007

Hedi Slimane

(men's) – 2007–2018

Kris Van Assche

(men's) – 2018–present

Kim Jones

Asia: 143

Africa: 6

Europe: 192

Middle East: 45

North America: 117

Oceania: 10

South America: 2

The company operates a total of 535 locations as of April 2023: [157]

Jackson, Lesley. The New Look: Design in the Fifties. London: Thames & Hudson, 1991.  0-500-27644-7.

ISBN

Official website

– brand and company profile at Fashion Model Directory

Dior

Archived 15 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine

Christian Dior at Chicago History Museum Digital Collections

. Victoria and Albert Museum. 29 July 2015.

"Interactive timeline of couture houses and couturier biographies"

exhibition catalog fully online as PDF from The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Christian Dior