What was Christian Dior’s first Paris couture employer as a design assistant?

Robert Piguet was Christian Dior’s first Paris couture employer as a design assistant.

Dior entered the fashion industry after years devoted to art, illustration, and gallery work. In 1938, Robert Piguet hired him as an assistant designer, giving him direct experience inside a professional couture house.

This early position helped Dior learn the practical side of fashion: designing collections, working with ateliers, and responding to the demands of clients and seasonal presentations. He later moved to other houses before establishing his own maison.

The answer is sometimes confused with Lucien Lelong because Dior’s wartime work at Lelong is also prominent in biographies. Piguet, however, was the earlier employer and the first major couture house to give Dior a design-assistant role.