Who was Christian Dior’s younger sister, whose name inspired a Dior fragrance?

Christian Dior’s younger sister was Catherine Dior, whose name inspired the Miss Dior fragrance.

Catherine Dior was born in 1917 and was the youngest child of the Dior family. During the Second World War, she became involved in the French Resistance and was arrested by the Gestapo in 1944. She survived imprisonment in several concentration camps and returned to France after the war.

Christian Dior named his first perfume Miss Dior in her honour. The fragrance was launched in 1947 alongside the debut of his couture house, making Catherine part of the brand’s early history even though she did not work as a fashion designer.

The name is sometimes mistaken for a general title or a reference to a fictional woman. In fact, it was closely connected with Dior’s sister and his family life.