Christian Dior founded the House of Dior in 1946 and presented its first collection in Paris in 1947.
Dior opened his couture house at 30 Avenue Montaigne with financial backing from textile industrialist Marcel Boussac. His first collection was widely associated with the “New Look,” a phrase coined by Carmel Snow of Harper’s Bazaar. The collection used rounded shoulders, a narrow waist, and full skirts that required substantial fabric.
The New Look marked a dramatic visual change after the wartime years, when clothing was shaped by rationing and utility. Dior’s presentation helped restore Paris’s reputation as the leading center of haute couture, although critics also debated the cost and practicality of the elaborate designs.
Dior died unexpectedly in 1957. His assistant Yves Saint Laurent succeeded him as artistic director before beginning his own influential career.