Books About Christian Dior
Book Roundup - Books About Christian Dior
Who is Christian Dior?
Christian Dior was a famous French fashion designer who founded the iconic fashion house that bears his name. Born in 1905 in Granville, France, Dior initially pursued a career in political science before eventually turning to fashion design. In 1947, he launched his first collection, which included the legendary 'New Look' silhouette that revolutionized the fashion industry. The success of his designs helped establish Paris as the fashion capital of the world and cemented Dior's status as one of the most influential designers of the 20th century. Despite his untimely death in 1957, the House of Dior continues to be a major player in the fashion industry today, with a reputation for producing stunning, innovative designs that push the boundaries of style and creativity.
Some of the prominent designers during the same era as Christian Dior include Cristobal Balenciaga, Hubert de Givenchy, Coco Chanel, Elsa Schiaparelli, and Pierre Balmain. These designers shared a common goal of bringing luxury and elegance to fashion, and their contributions have had a lasting impact on the industry. Yves Saint Laurent spent two years work along side and learning from Christian Dior. If you’re interested in learning about other fashion designers, you can also check out books about Gianni Versace, Gucci and Mainbocher.
About the Christian Dior Brand
Today, the Dior brand is considered to be one of the world's leading fashion houses, with a strong reputation for producing high quality and luxurious clothing, accessories, fragrances, and cosmetics.
Under the leadership of current artistic director Maria Grazia Chiuri, Dior products and services continued to evolve, while still staying true to its roots in couture and parfums. Recent collections have featured a mix of classic elegance and modern flair, with a focus on tailored silhouettes, intricate embroidery and embellishments, and bold prints and patterns.
In addition to its fashion offerings, Dior has also expanded into other areas, including fine jewelry and watches, as well as beauty and skincare products. The brand is known for its commitment to sustainability and ethical practices, with a focus on reducing waste and using sustainable materials whenever possible. Overall, Dior remains a true icon of luxury fashion and continues to set the standard for high-end style and sophistication.
Books About Christian Dior
From a modest upbringing in Normandy to redefining elegance with the debut of the “New Look” in 1947, Christian Dior left an indelible mark on the world of fashion. His name has become synonymous with sophistication, femininity, and luxury—and his legacy continues to inspire designers, writers, and artists across generations. Whether you’re captivated by couture, drawn to the drama of postwar Paris, or simply curious about the man behind one of the most iconic fashion houses in the world, this curated list of fiction and nonfiction titles offers a window into the life, work, and enduring influence of Christian Dior.
From memoirs and biographies to page-turning historical novels, these books will take you from the atelier floors of Avenue Montaigne to the runways of modern-day fashion weeks—all in the name of Dior.
The Fashion House by Megan Hess
A charming illustrated book that features Dior among other fashion legends; not fiction in the traditional sense but has a playful narrative style.
Now in a beautiful tenth-anniversary special edition, Fashion House is the first book from international illustration sensation and bestselling author Megan Hess, full of inspirational interiors from the world of fashion, past and present. Ever dreamed you could live in the suite of a Manhattan socialite? Or the grand estate of one of London's men-about-town, or a Parisian vintage loft? Within the sumptuously illustrated pages of this collection, Megan Hess has assembled some of the most decadent and indulgent interior designs from around the world, along with suggestions for how you can incorporate their fashionable style into your own spaces. With a gorgeous updated design and format, Fashion House will inspire and delight anyone with a love of fashion, a penchant for interior design or an appreciation for the signature illustrations of Megan Hess.
The Dressmaker of Paris by Georgia Kaufmann
Follows the life of a woman who rises through the fashion industry, intersecting with Dior and postwar couture in Paris.
I need to tell you a story, ma chère. My story.
Rosa Kusstatscher has built a global fashion empire upon her ability to find the perfect outfit for any occasion. But tonight, as she prepares for the most important meeting of her life, her usual certainty eludes her.
What brought her to this moment? As she struggles to select her dress and choose the right shade of lipstick, Rosa begins to tell her incredible story. The story of a poor country girl from a village high in the mountains of Italy. Of Nazi occupation and fleeing in the night. Of hope and heartbreak in Switzerland; glamour and love in Paris. Of ambition and devastation in Rio de Janeiro; success and self-discovery in New York.
A life spent running, she sees now. But she will run no longer.
[What is your favorite decade in fashion history?] I’m sure not many people who answer this question would say the 1930s. The 30s get sort of lost between the flapper dresses of the roaring 20s and Dior’s New Look that debuted in 1947 but really took hold in the 50s. But to me the 1930s were a wonderful time to in fashion. Coco Chanel was at the height of her powers when a bold new upstart in the form of Elsa Schiaparelli was making waves with her high-concept, absurdist designs. Schiap dressed Wallis Simpson in a dress featuring a lobster drawn by Salvador Dali. How could you go wrong with the 1930s? - Genevieve Gannon
Dior in Bloom by Justine Picardie, Naomi Sachs, and Alain Stella
Celebrating Dior's floral inspirations in fashion and perfume, this unique volume features a portfolio of rose portraits by acclaimed fashion photographer Nick Knight.
For Christian Dior, perfume was "a door opening into a hidden world." His first, Miss Dior, inspired by the lush gardens of his childhood home in Normandy, forged an inextricable link between his fashion and fragrance creations. Other scents were inspired by evenings in southern France, lit with fireflies and scented with jasmine. The rose bowers of his family home in Granville; his old mill country house; and the Château de la Colle Noire near Grasse--where jasmine, tuberose, and May roses reign supreme and are still cultivated--inspired Dior's most memorable creations.
Flowers were also at the heart of Dior's fashion, from the women-flowers that inspired the late 1940s New Look to the swishing, blossom-like ball gowns embroidered with lavish floral motifs. They have inspired all of the designers who followed him at the House of Dior, from Yves Saint Laurent to John Galliano, and Raf Simons to Maria Grazia Chiuri.
The House of Dior: Seventy Years of Haute Couture by Katie Somerville, Lydia Kamitsis, and Danielle Whitfield
In celebration of Dior’s 70th anniversary and produced in close collaboration with the House of Dior, one of the world’s most prestigious couture houses, this beautiful publication features garments designed by Christian Dior Couture between 1947 and 2017 and more than 100 stunning images.
The House of Dior explores the story of the fashion house through a series of themes, featuring works by the seven designers who have played key roles in shaping Dior’s renowned fashionable silhouette: Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Bohan, Gianfranco Ferré, John Galliano, Raf Simons and Maria Grazia Chiuri. It narrates Dior’s rich history, including Christian Dior’s early influences, insights into the Dior atelier workrooms, the role that accessories and perfume have played in expressing the complete Dior look and the milestones of its six successive designers following Dior’s sudden death in 1957. Highlights include examples from Christian Dior’s iconic spring 1947 New Look collection, magnificent displays of Dior’s signature ball gowns and evening dresses, as well as designs from the inaugural couture collection of the House’s first female head designer, Maria Grazia Chiuri.
Sumptuous in its design, this large-format hardback is led by full-page photography of works, and historical and contextual imagery. Writers include leading fashion writer Lydia Kamitsis and curators Katie Somerville and Danielle Whitfield.
[What is your favorite decade in fashion history?] Oooh! This is a tough one because there are so many amazing looks. I love the dropped waist dresses from the 1920s and 30s, and I love Dior's New Look fashions from the 1950s, but I'm going to have to say the 1960s. I love all the a-line dresses and bold prints from that time, as well as the flat shoes, the Peter-Pan collars, the Brigette Bardot eyes, the bouffant hair -- I love it all! - Elizabeth Gonzalez James
Dior and His Decorators: Victor Grandpierre, Georges Geffroy, and the New Look by Maureen Footer
Dior and His Decorators is the first work on the two interior designers most closely associated with Christian Dior. Like the unabashedly luxurious fashions of Dior’s New Look, which debuted in 1947, the interior designs of Victor Grandpierre and Georges Geffroy infused a war-weary world with a sumptuous new aesthetic—a melding of the refined traditions of the past with a wholly modern sense of elegance. Author Maureen Footer recounts the lives and work of this influential trio, illustrated with a trove of evocative vintage photographs. Grandpierre designed Dior’s first couture house, creating not only the elegantly restrained look of the salons but also the template for the Dior brand, including typeface, logo, and packaging. Both Grandpierre and Geffroy (who worked independently) designed the interior of Dior’s townhouse. After the couturier’s untimely death in 1957, Grandpierre and Geffroy went on to design salons for other couturiers, as well as homes for the likes of Yves Saint Laurent, Marcel Rochas, Gloria Guinness, Daisy Fellowes, and Maria Callas.
Dior Catwalk: The Complete Collections by Alexander Fury
This book gathers together, for the first time, every Dior haute couture collection, including also ready-to-wear collections after the arrival of John Galliano (when ready-to-wear presentations took on a new importance), and the first two collections designed by creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri, appointed in 2016. It offers a unique opportunity to chart the development of one of the world's most famous fashion brands and discover rarely seen collections. This definitive publication opens with a concise history of the house of Dior before exploring the collections themselves, which are organized chronologically. Each new 'era' in Dior's history is inaugurated by a brief overview and biography of the new designer, while individual collections are introduced by a short text unveiling their influences and highlights and illustrated with carefully curated catwalk images. A rich reference section, including an extensive index, concludes the book. After Chanel, Dior is the second volume in a series of high-end, cloth-bound books that offer a complete and unrivalled overview of the collections of the world's top fashion houses through original catwalk photography.
[What is your favorite decade in fashion history?] 1930s absolutely! Schiaparelli, Balenciaga, Dior, Chanel all in their heydays! I have a fabulous book called 1930s fashion: The Definitive Sourcebook and I open it regularly and dream. We should all dress like that again. - Jennifer Anton
Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams by Florence Müller
An extraordinary book celebrating the unique connection between the House of Dior and the United States.
Published on the occasion of the retrospective staged at the Brooklyn Museum, this new title chronicles the history of the House of Dior from 1947, when Chris-tian Dior heralded the birth of a new era of elegance with his revolutionary New Look, to the present day, with a special focus on the House’s legacy in America.
Featuring a sophisticated Swiss binding, this book presents the exhibition’s highlights with creations by Christian Dior and the artistic directors who succeeded him: Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Bohan, Gianfranco Ferré, John Galliano, Raf Simons, and Maria Grazia Chiuri. Captured by artist Katerina Jebb, some of the House’s most legendary designs are displayed in highly unique images. A portfolio of iconic photographs by American masters—including Richard Avedon, Cass Bird, Henry Clarke, Louise Dahl-Wolfe, Zoë Ghertner, Ethan James Green, Tyler Mitchell, Irving Penn, and many more—underscores Dior’s undeniable cultural influence.
Dior by Dior
Christian Dior (1905–1957) rocketed to fame with his first collection in 1947 when the “New Look” took the world by storm. This charming and modest autobiography gives a fascinating and detailed insight into the workings of a great fashion house, while revealing the private man behind the high-profile establishment. It is also a unique portrait of classic Paris haute couture of the 1950s and offers a rare glimpse behind the scenes. Dior details his childhood in Granville, the family and friends closest to him, his most difficult years and sudden success, as well as his sources of inspiration and creative processes.
[What is your favorite decade in fashion history?] Dior’s post-World War II New Look. All those sweeping skirts and clinched waists in gorgeous fabrics! And the hats! Sigh. - Margarita Barresi
The Paris Secret by Natasha Lester
England, 1939: The Penrose sisters couldn't be more different. Skye is a daring and brash pilot, and Liberty the one to defy her at every turn. Even if women aren't allowed in the Royal Air Force, Skye is determined to help the war effort. She's thrilled when it reunites her with her childhood soulmate, Nicholas. She's less thrilled to learn Nicholas is now engaged to an enigmatic Frenchwoman named Margaux Jourdan.
Paris, 1947: Designer Christian Dior unveils his glamorous first collection to a world weary of war and grief. He names his debut fragrance Miss Dior in tribute to his beloved sister Catherine, who forged a friendship with Skye and Margaux through her work with the French Resistance.
Present Day: Fashion conservator Kat Jourdan discovers a priceless collection of Dior gowns in her grandmother's vacant cottage. As she delves into the mystery of their origin, Kat begins to doubt everything she thought she knew about her beloved grandmother.
Christian Dior by Oriole Cullen
Capturing the highlights of a major V&A exhibition, this stunning volume celebrates the House of Dior from its foundation in 1947 to the present day. Haute-couture gowns by Christian Dior and the illustrious creative directors who followed him—Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Bohan, Gianfranco Ferré, John Galliano, Raf Simons, and Maria Grazia Chiuri—are showcased here, atmospherically photographed by Laziz Hamani. Archival material—including design sketches by Christian Dior—and press and fashion photography provide colorful context, amplified by introductory texts to each section by V&A Fashion Curator Oriole Cullen. An opening chapter by Cullen looks at Dior’s creative collaborations with influential British manufacturers, and his most notable British clients, from Princess Margaret to author Nancy Mitford and ballet dancer Margot Fonteyn. It also revisits Dior’s spectacular fashion shows staged in England’s most luxurious stately homes, including at Blenheim Palace in 1954.
[What is your favorite decade in fashion history?] Ooooh...this is such a tough one. I've always been a fashion-lover, and taught Fashion Merchandising for over a decade. I'd probably have to say either the 1920s flapper era and all the Art Deco inspirations, or Christian Dior's 1950s "New Look" with the nipped-in waists. - Jen Craven
Miss Dior: A Story of Courage and Couture by Justine Picardie
When the French designer Christian Dior presented his first collection in Paris in 1947, he changed fashion forever. Dior’s “New Look” created a striking, romantic vision of femininity, luxury, and grace, making him―and his last name―famous overnight. One woman informed Dior’s vision more than any other: his sister, Catherine, a Resistance fighter, concentration camp survivor, and cultivator of rose gardens who inspired Dior’s most beloved fragrance, Miss Dior. Yet the story of Catherine’s remarkable life―so different from her famous brother’s―has never been told, until now.
Drawing on the Dior archives and extensive research, Justine Picardie’s Miss Dior is the long-overdue restoration of Catherine Dior’s life. The siblings’ stories are profoundly intertwined: in Occupied France, as Christian honed his couture skills, Catherine dedicated herself to the Resistance, ultimately being captured by the Gestapo and sent to Ravensbruck, the only Nazi camp solely for women. Seeking to trace Catherine’s story as well as her influence on her brother, Picardie traveled to the significant places of Catherine’s life, including Les Rhumbs, the Dior family villa with its magnificent gardens; the House of Dior in Paris; and La Colle Noire, Christian’s chateâu that he bequeathed to his sister.
Inventive and captivating, and shaped by Picardie’s own journey, Miss Dior examines the legacy of Christian Dior, the secrets of postwar France, and the unbreakable bond between two remarkable siblings. Most important, it shines overdue recognition on a previously overlooked life, one that epitomized courage and also embodied the astonishing capacity of the human spirit to remain undimmed, even in the darkest circumstances.
Dior or Die by Angela M. Sanders
Portland, Oregon, vintage clothing store owner, Joanna Hayworth, is in a tight spot. Her plans to upgrade her store have derailed and costs are mounting. When she wins three trunks of vintage haute couture in an auction, she thinks her luck has changed—but it’s about to get much worse. The clothing’s high-society matron owner turns up poisoned to death, and police seize the wardrobe, leaving Joanna with more debt, a friend wrongly jailed for diamond theft, and a convent of quirky nuns depending on her help. There’s only one way to calmer waters: find the murderer, and fast.
[What is your favorite decade in fashion history?] The 1940s! I love the utilitarian influence on women's fashion due to the war effort, with those wide legged trousers and high waist. And the evening clothes were form fitting and glamorous whereas by the fifties, the dresses became very poofy given Dior's influence with an extreme waist line --there was a lot more fabric by then and more to work with. - Alexis Landau
Christian Dior: Destiny: The Authorized Biography by Marie-France Pochna
In 1947, when Christian Dior’s model spun her wasp-waisted skirt and tipped a hat over one eye, the iconic designer became an instant celebrity. His groundbreaking New Look was quintessentially Parisian—the perfect combination of fanciful and elegant that glorified the female form and seduced his international clientele.
Yet it was by mere chance that Dior—hapless in the face of personal and professional tragedy—met a friendly priest who helped him to rebuild his faith and to find the strength to chart his glorious destiny. He went on to upend the downtrodden postwar era with his joie de vivre and his pursuit of a single goal: to make women “not only more beautiful, but happier” through the proportions of his marvelous designs and a color palette that reflected the Parisian sky. Today, the legacy of this witty yet staunchly private man shines on as his intuitive creativity continues to inspire the House of Dior’s designers to reinvent the woman of tomorrow.
I like reading channeled New Age books. One New Age book which is one of my favorites is Telos by Dianne Robbins. Another New Age book is Hanna Kroeger’s New Dimensions in Healing Yourself. She is the author of over 20 novels, and I have read many of them. She was a master healer. A couple of fashion books that I have read that are a couple of my favorite memoirs are Bill Cunningham’s Fashion Climbing, and Christian Dior’s memoir Dior by Dior: The Autobiography of Christian Dior - Alyssa Couture
