Christian Dior was born on 21 January 1905 in Granville, Manche, a seaside town on the coast of France. His family, whose fortune was derived from the manufacture of fertilizer, had hopes he would become a diplomat, but Dior only wished to be involved in mostly fashion, but sketching as well. To make money, he sold his fashion sketches outside for about 10 cents each. After leaving school he received money from his father so that in 1928 he could open a small art gallery, where he sold art by the likes of Pablo Picasso.

From the 30\'s to the 40\'s he worked with Robert Piguet until being called up for military service. In 1942, having left the Army, Dior joined the fashion house of Lucien Lelong, where he and Pierre Balmain were the primary designers. For the duration of World War II, Christian Dior dressed the wives of the Nazi officers and French collaborators.

On 8 October 1946 Dior founded his own fashion house, backed by Marcel Boussac, the cotton-fabric magnate.

As he known, Dior is the man that put Paris on the fashion. He died suddenly in 1957 of a heart attack while undergoing treatment in a spa in Italy. In the following years several renowned designers took over at the House of Dior until 1990 when the luxury goods manufacturer LMVH (M?et Hennessey Luis Viutton) bought it and since then the English designer John Galliano has been the chief designer.

Photo: luxur.sk