Dior- the illustrious fashion house made famous by Pop Smoke. (Obvious lies).
Started in 1947 by Christian Dior, the house is now helmed by Peitro Beccari. Becarri has been CEO since 2018, coming on after his stint as VP of marketing and communications for LVMH, which also owns Louis Vuitton, Sephora, and other luxury and beauty brands. The house has two different creative directors for its men’s and women’s lines.
Kim Jones, a British born designer, is the creative director of menswear.
(Image courtesy of Nikolai von Bismarck/Sotheby’s/Galerie Magazine)
He came to Dior after honing his craft working with multiple brands, including Gimme 5, Umbro, Hugo Boss, Pastelle, Dunhill, and Louis Vuitton.He sees his strength as his “safari eyes,” or a keen eye for details. This allows him to notice what it takes to reinvigorate a line and brand, while both staying true to its history and steering it towards financial success.
His time at the house has ushered in collaborations with multiple artists, allowing him to incorporate their style into pieces and elements of shows. His collaboration with Ghanaian artist, Amoako Boafo, in particular, was both a celebration of the artist’s work and a hearkening back to Jones’s own childhood creating art while following his hydrogeologist father across Africa.
(Image credits CNN/Jackie Nickerson)
He has also partnered with KAWS, Chitose Abe, and Kenny Scharf. Recently, he has worked with the estate of Jack Kerouac include the writer’s work into the pre-fall 2022 collection.
As the creative Director for the women’s line, Maria Grazia Chiuri has infused the house with a message of women’s empowerment.
Originally from Italy, Chiuri came to Dior from after working with Valentino and Fendi. As the first female creative director for Dior, her tenure has seen more even partnerships with women, including photographers, artists, and academics. Notably, she points to the viral Chimamanda Adichie TED talk as pivotal in this turn.
Chiuri reached out to Adichie for collaboration, leading to the inclusion of her famous words, “We should all be feminists,” into the 2017 collection.
Image courtesy of Getty Images/Mirror UK
To ensure that the inclusion of feminist work and diverse perspectives is more than just cursory, Chiuri has employed her daughter Rachele as a cultural advisor, drawing from her degrees in gender studies and art history.
This focus on women has shaped the growing appeal of the brand. In addition to Chiuri’s hiring, the brand is at the forefront of equity as fifty percent of its key leadership positions are held by women. In addition, Dior has partnered with UNESCO to launch Women@Dior, an initiative that supports the development of young women into leaders in fashion.
In early 2022, the brand was ranked number one in the Vogue Business Index. Sales from 2021 are estimated to have equaled 9.3 billion euros across its couture and parfum divisions. While this pales in comparison to the 16.7 billion sales of top Louis Vuitton, Morgan Stanly analysts considered it to be the fastest growing brand in the category. Dior nevertheless continues to evolve into an IT brand. With a focus on physical fashion shows and wearable pieces, it has many fawning over the collections. To quote the late Pop Smoke (and highlight the brands pop culture relevance):
Christian Dior, Dior
Pop Smoke- “Dior”
I’m up in all the stores
When it rains, it pours
Overall, it is clearly a brand to watch in the year to come.
References
Bettridge, Thom. (2019, September 11). Monsieur Jones. GQ. https://www.gq.com/story/kim-jones-dior-men-profile
Chilvers, Simon. (April 25, 2021). ‘I saw a million ideas all at once’: Dior Men’s Kim Jones and Amoako Boafo. The Guardian:The Observer. https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2021/apr/25/i-saw-a-million-ideas-all-at-once-kim-jones-dior-mens-designer-and-amoako-boafo
Foley, Bridget. (May 15, 2021). Maria Grazia Chiuri: Couture Should Shine in the Bright Light of Day. Town & Country. https://www.townandcountrymag.com/style/fashion-trends/a36424335/maria-grazia-chiuri-dior-couture-interview/
Guilbault, Laure. 3 Janurayr 2022. Can Dior’s meteoric rise continue in 2022? Vogue Business. https://www.voguebusiness.com/companies/can-diors-meteoric-rise-continue-in-2022
Lau, Susie. May 21. Maria Grazia Chiuri. Perfect. https://www.theperfectmagazine.com/features/maria-grazia-chiuri
Marshall, Alexandra. (Nov 15, 2021). Thanks it’s Dior. InStyle. https://www.instyle.com/fashion/dior-photoshoot-december-2021
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