The Creation of Christian Dior

On April 18, 1946, Christian Dior was walking down the Rue Saint Honoré and stumbled upon a cast-iron star at the edge of the sidewalk. 

During WWII, Dior worked for the Lucien Lelong fashion house alongside Pierre Balmain, negotiating the Occupation years in Paris. Coming out of the fog of war and at a crossroads, Dior ran into a childhood friend, Georges Vigouroux, who was working at the Philippe & Gaston fashion house. 

Dior’s old chum told him they were looking for a new designer. Dior pushed it off. Over the next few weeks, they had two more chance encounters, and Dior finally agreed to meet the owner, Marcel Boussac.

Christian Dior was very superstitious. In 1919, a fortune teller told him, “Women are lucky for you, and through them you will achieve success.”  

On a lovely Thursday morning in Paris, Christian Dior walked along the Rue Saint-Honoré and came upon a star; he knew it was a sign. Dior didn’t want to work for another house; he wanted his own label under his name. Finding the star gave him the push he needed.  Dior asked Boussac to back him and his own label, and on October 8, 1946, the House of Dior was founded. 

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Bonjour, bonjour, and welcome to another new episode of Paris and Blue Blonde Rouge. I am Claudine Hemingway and I'm excited to bring you another new story this week. And this is one, and the subject is one we're going to come back to quite a few times, and to the point that I could probably I have thoughts of giving up everything and only focusing all of my time and attention and research to this one individual. So I can't wait to tell that story. But it is Tuesday here in Paris, and I was excited to go this morning to see the Mary Cassat exhibit at the Orsay, but there was a little bit of a strike and it did not open, and I needed to get home. I want to get into this little story to you with you today, but it is Tuesday. And if you follow me on Instagram, you might have come across a few times when I've posted a picture of a pigeon, and I name him Pierre. And he's my personal pigeon that comes to my window, and he's looking at me right now. And for some reason, he really loves when I record this because usually he's sitting in the window when I am recording and I have the windows closed. But if he wants a little snack, he'll get annoyed and tap on the window. So I gave him I gave him a little bit of bread. So hopefully we've uh kept him busy so he could let me get this done. But let's get into this. I want to tell you the story, and it is about Christian Dior. And everybody knows who Christian Dior is, or at least you know the house today that is Dior, that has been around for 80 years this week specifically. It was on April 18th, 1946, that Christian Dior was walking down the Rue Saint-Honore and stumbled upon a cast iron star on the edge of the sidewalk. It was a sign he needed to take the biggest leap of his life. Christian Dior was born on January 21, 1905, in the Normandy town of Grandville. He was the second of five children of Madeleine and Maurice Dior. Before the Dior name was made famous on the Paris runway, it was known for fertilizer, one of the finest in France. It was created by his great-great-grandfather, Louis-Jean Dior, in 1832. The El Dior Company also offered bleach and laundry detergent. In 1906, the family moved to Le Roomba, a small villa in Grandville. It was decorated by Madeline in pink and soft colors, and it was surrounded by flowering gardens. In 1906, the family moved to Le Roomba, a small villa in Grandville, decorated by Madeline in pink and soft colors and surrounded with a garden of flowers. The house and garden had a lasting impact on Christian Dior, and one we still see in the house 80 years later. As a toddler in its teenage years, young Christian spent endless hours in the garden. His mother created with its beds of roses, lilacs, and his favorite lily of the valley. In 1910, the family moved to Paris and lived in an apartment at 9 Rue Louis David, a few blocks from the Trocadero. As he grew up, his mother's influence drew him into a life of the arts, but in 1923, his father directed him to the Science Po to find a real career. His parents wanted him to become a diplomat, but you can't keep a man from his calling. In 1928, after his obligatory military service, he returned to Paris and dipped into art, opening a gallery with the financial help of his father. Although the gift came with a caveat, he couldn't use the name Dior. With friends and gallerists Jacques Paul Bonjon and later Pierre Cole, the perfect location fell into their laps at 34 Rue la Boasset, a block from Paul Rosenberg's fame gallery and Picasso's Atelier. Their gallery included many of the great contemporary artists of the time, including Brock, Raoul, Dufy, Jean Miro, Matisse, and Picasso. In 1932, they opened another location at 29 Rue Combasserais, just two blocks away. In Dior's autobiography, Dior by Dior, published in 1956, he wished he still had many of these paintings, saying, quote, his family thought they were worthless. The gallery led to many fights with his father that worried he would tarnish the family name. The Dior family fortune was lost in the wake of the U.S. Depression once the effects reached the shores of France. His father's gambling didn't help the fact either. His family returned to Grandville when Paris became too expensive, but Christian was determined to stay. It was 1931, and by the end of the decade, things were going to get far worse. Count surfing at night, Christian sold the gallery's inventory to the few buyers he could find, far below their value. He and his art-loving friends spent their evening in the Buff sur la Trois, where the kind owner Moistus extended a few deals their way while they sat alongside the richer Parisians. Dior and his friends were young, broke, and having a great time at Paris before he became quite ill. He left Paris to head to the mountains to, as they used to say, take the waters. When money ran out, he headed south to the Balearic Islands off the Spanish coast in the Mediterranean. It was on this retreat that he recalls finding his artistic calling and considering venturing into tapestries. However, his lack of funds or the fact that nobody was looking to buy tapestries to decorate their homes led him to move on past that dream. With encouragement from friends and designers Jean Osain and Max Kenat, Dior began sketching and drawing and to his surprise, sold his work to magazines. In 1935, while in the south of France, he finally discovered that artistic voice again. For endless days, he worked to master and center his designs and thoughts into gowns, cocktail dresses, and hats. Claude Saint-Cyr was the first to notice his hat designs. Simon Nodet adopted the name Claude Saulcier and found great fame in Paris hat making in the years just before the war. After the war, she made hats for Queen Elizabeth and her sister, Princess Margaret. Designing hats for Simone put Dior's design in front of many people. Solely people noticed his designs and his name spread among the Paris couturiers. Valenciaga, Scaparelli, Charles Frederick Worth, Nina Ricci, and many more purchased designs for their clients. It gave Dior time to understand what people wanted and to fine-tune his ideas. Christian finally got his foot in the door, and his first job in fashion was as a pattern maker for couturier Robert Piget. In 1938, where he learned how to bring his designs to life from paper to model. It was a perfect place to understand how a Couture fashion house worked. A year into the position at the start of World War II, he was called up for military duty in 1939, and by 1940, he left for Callion in the south to help his father and sister with their property. Dior picked up extra money illustrating the latest fashions for Le Figaro and Vogue, which kept him tied to the fashion world. In the winter of 1941, Dior was able to return to Paris, but his former job at Pigay was no longer waiting for him. Dior heard through dear friend Madame Raymond Zeneker that Lucien Lelong might have a position for him, and Lelon had one of the few fashion houses that was thriving through the war. He was hired as a pattern maker, and Dior fine-tuned his designs and let his creativity flourish, although hidden behind the name of Lelong. Lucien Lelong grew up in the fashion business. Both his parents and uncles held positions ranging from fabric dealer to designer. He set up his own house and was to debut his first collection, but the start of World War I changed everything. By 1924, he had established his couture house on the Avenue Matignon, a street Dior would come to know very well. Le Long built quite an empire, including perfume and shops in France and the United States. As stage and screen stars wore his designs, business was booming and led to hiring young designers to sketch creations that would be under the Le Long label. After the First World War, America's purchasing power was much higher, and Nina Marcus and Berkdorf Goodman had clients who wanted custom couture creations and had the money to pay for them. Lalongue and many other fashion designers capitalized on this. The industry peaked in 1929 before it all came crashing down. At the start of World War II, Lalong served as the president of the Chamber of Eau Couture and did everything he could to save the industry during the occupation. Hitler had wanted to move the fashion industry to Berlin or Vienna, and Lalong did all he could to keep it in Paris, including dressing the wives and mistresses of the Nazi elite. Fashion houses were allowed to continue to operate but were forbidden to sell to any international clients, only locals, which left them with very few options. Lalong, of course, worked around this by sending sketches and samples to private clients in the U.S. As a head of French Couture, he made a few brilliant plays to keep Paris the capital of fashion even through the endless dark days. Lalongue was able to employ many of the seamstresses by working for the army and creating uniforms. Chanel was so enraged that her ladies went on strike before the war that as soon as the war started, she closed the door and turned all of the names of her Jewish employees into the Nazis. Dior arrived at the door of Maison Lucienne Le Long in 1942 in the midst of the war and worked as a stylist alongside Pierre Belmont and Hubert de Givenchy. Glad to have a job, they worked through endless shortages and wondered whether their atelier would be open the next day. By 1942, the business was brisk and they were turning people away. Everyone wanted to wear a one-of-a-kind creation by Le Long, at least those who could actually afford it, including the women tied to the Nazis. This didn't sit well with Christian, especially since his dear sister Catherine, who fought in the resistance, was arrested on July 6, 1944 and taken to a camp. Thankfully, she survived and returned to her brother on April 30th, 1945. The legacy of Christian Dior is often criticized for designing for Nazi women, but it wasn't his decision, and the Le Long House is far from the despicable legacy that Coco created. Immediately after the liberation of Paris, restrictions on fashion houses became stricter, making it harder to get much needed supplies and staff. As the house is reopened, staff left for better jobs and started their own businesses. It was at this time that Dior and Balmont talked about opening their own house together, but Dior was too nervous to step out on his own after the unstable years before and during the war. Balmont opened his own house in 1945 at 44 Rue Francois Primier, just up the street from the location Dior would also open. Back at Lilong, Dior's name began to shine beyond that of its house's owner. Emerging from the fog of war, the fashion business was unsure which direction they should go. While people were celebrating the end of Nazi occupation, Paris was still under a very dark cloud. As head of the French Au Couture, Lalongue had an idea. He could create a fashion show without models and by using dolls instead. Due to his position, he was able to round up most of the Parisian couture houses, including Scaparelli, Balenciaga, and Linvin. He also included jewelry by Cartier and Van Glaffen Appel, and bags and gloves from Hermes. Lalongue was, of course, a part of it with Dior designing two of the looks that were the most popular of the entire show. More than 175 wire and plaster dolls twice the size of a Barbie were dressed to the nines. These hookouts beauties were set up in front of theater sets created by Christian Bérard, depicting scenes of the streets of Paris, opera houses, parks, and cafes. The show opened in the Pavillon Marseille of the Musee des Arts Decoratif on March 28, 1944, and was a rousing success. The exhibit traveled around Europe and eventually to the United States. The new exhibit, Look, 40 Years of Fashion in the Mad, which is what Musée des Arts Decoratif is trying to get hip, has two of the dolls on display, as well as one of the backdrops and a few of the wire limbs. I was so excited when I saw these last week. More on that in another day, but if you were in the Pacific Northwest, you should definitely go see the dolls at the Mary Hill Museum, and I wish I knew they were there when I lived in the Northwest. At the start of spring in Paris in 1946, Dior ran into his childhood friend from Granville, Georges Vigieroux, while walking on the Rue Saint-Honore. Dior was living at 10 Rue Royale on the wide street between the Madeleine and the Place de la Concorde. Vigarou worked at the Gaston Fashion House on the Champs Elysees. Originally named the Philippe and Gaston House was started by Philippe Ect and Gaston Kaufmann, who opened their atelier in 1922. It flourished with the Art Deco style and new relaxed silhouettes until 1937 when the business suffered. It was renamed Gaston and it barely survived the war. In 1946, the wealthy Marcel Boussac swooped in and took over the business and wanted to breathe new life into the old house with his money and textile business behind it. Dior's old chum, Georges Vigoroux, told him it was the most unbelievable coincidence. The Gaston house was looking for a new designer. Dior pushed it off. Over the next few weeks, they had two more chance encounters in the same exact spot, and Dior finally agreed to meet the owner, Marcel Bousac. Dior had talked to his former colleague, Pierre Belmont, whose new house had really taken off and got him thinking. On April 16th, 1946, a lovely Thursday morning at Paris, Christian Dior walked along the Rue Saint Honore between this Rue Saint-Florentin and the Rue Royale and came upon that star. He knew it was a sign. It was also the same spot where he had run into his old friend Vigerux three times in the past month. Christian was on his way to meet Monsieur Marcel Brusek. Marcel Brusek's father was a tailor and plunged his money into creating textile factories around France. At eighteen, Marcel joined the family business and grew it into a thriving industry and became one of the richest men in France. He also dabbled in the sport of kings, horse racing, and had a prize-winning stable. Dior was ready to turn down the offer the day he walked into the office of Broussac. Maybe it was a lucky star that he found on or the sudden boost of confidence, but it was the incredibly shy Dior that asked the unthinkable. Dior didn't want to work for another house. He wanted his own label under his name. Dior describes the meeting in his very own words in his autobiography, Dior by Dior. I suddenly heard myself telling him that what I really wanted to do was not to resurrect Gaston, but to create a new couture house under my name, in a district of my own choosing. I wanted a house where everything would be new, from the ambiance and the staff to the furniture and even the address. All around us, life was beginning anew. It was time for a new trend in fashion. Greatly daring. I described the house in my dreams. It would be small and secluded with very few workrooms. Within them, the work would be done according to the highest tradition of Au Couture. The clothes, which would give an impression of simplicity, would in fact involve elaborate workmanship and would be aimed at a clientele of really elegant women. After the long war years of stagnation, I believed that there was a genuine, unsatisfied desire abroad for something new in fashion. In order to meet this demand, French Couture would have to return to the traditions of great luxury, which was why I envisioned my house as a craftsman's workshop rather than a closed factory. He goes on, out of breath and amazed at my own temerity, I stopped short. Marcel Broussac had heard me out with great patience, and before escorting me to the door, he told me that although I had outlined quite a different plan to him from the one he had envisioned, and mine was perhaps rather overambitious, nevertheless, my ideas interested him, and he would like to have time to think it over. Secretly I felt that he must have been amazed by my own opinion of myself. As for me, I was still suffering from the shock of discovering that, having gone to see him in order to say no, I ended up outlining a plan which sounded very much like yes. I just love him so much. Dior left that meeting and waited day after day for a response from Busack. Severely doubting his out-of-the-blue gumption, he was a nervous wreck. To make matters worse, he and Lucien Lulong were both friends with Busack. Still without a word, he decided to send a telegram rescinding his request. Dior was a very superstitious man. In nineteen nineteen, a fortune teller told him, Women are lucky for you, and through them you will achieve success. He continued to see fortune tellers the rest of his life, and one of his closest advisors, Madame Delahaye, he hoped she could help calm his nerves. She quickly told him he must accept the offer coming and that nothing anyone will offer you later will compare with the chance which is upon you now. Immediately, Dior reached out to Busak's office and explained his haste and that he did not want to exit any future negotiations. From there things moved briskly, and on October 8th, 1946, 80 years ago this week, the House of Dior was founded. The news spread quickly across the pond. Dior had already made a name for himself, and partnering with the incredibly wealthy Roussac brought him a lot of attention and expectation. Now it was time to find this diamond in the rough with his lengthy list of wishes that would shape Dior's atelier. Dior said, quote, Many years before my decisive interview with him, I had in fact stopped short in front of two small houses, side by side on the Avenue Matignon, number 28 and 30. Dior was walking with his friend Pierre Cole, who had the gallery with him in the 1920s. I pointed out their neat, compact proportions and an air of sober elegance without the least hint of ostentation, Christian Dior said at that very moment. Pierre, if your idea of having my own atelier comes off, I'm determined to set myself up here and nowhere else, Dior said. Boussac and his team of real estate agents showed Dior one building after another. None of them fit the bill. A few on the Champs Elysees, the Place Francois Primier, and also the Avenue Matignon, but all were too large. Discouraged and knowing he needed to decide quickly, he had a casual encounter that led him to learn that the hat shop at 30 Avenue Matignon was in the process of moving out. And the man, guided by a cast iron star, found his perfect building, the one that still serves as their headquarters today. Dior fell in love with a five-story neoclassical hotel peticulaire, originally built in 1865 for Alexandra Walloweski, Napoleon Bonaparte's first child. He died in 1868 months before it was finished, but his widow, Marianne Ritchie Wallieski, moved in and lived there until her death in 1912. It passed through a few more hands until 1939 when it held the Coralie Couture Maison de Chapeau, which luckily departed in the autumn of 1946. He quickly took possession and worked to restore and decorate the interior in a Louis XVI meets 1910 style, in his favorite gray, pale pink, houndstooth, and creamy white. A rebirth of the Trianon with all its elegance in the heart of Paris' Occoutour houses. Now Christian had to build a staff, and he would take one of his most trusted confidants and guardian angels with him from Le Long, Madame Raymond Zenecker. Dior said she plays reason to his fantasy and order to my imagination, discipline to my freedom, and foresight to my recklessness. Madame Raymond, as she was known, had started as an apprentice in fashion at just fourteen, then worked her way up to be the true leader behind the Le Long label. The relationship with Dior was so close that not only did she rule over his atelier with her satin glove, she also helped oversee his entire life. Anyone wanting to get close to Christian first had to get through Madame Raymond. She stayed at the Atelier after his death in 1957, helping to guide the young East Saint Laurent who carried the torch and vision of Dior. The second of the trilogy of powerhouse women Dior brought on was Madame Marguerite Carret, who had worked at the house of Pato and Charlesworth. Dior called her Dame Couture, and she was the Dior Whisperer. When it was time to create a new collection, Dior would retreat to his country home near Fontainebleau or lock himself away in his apartment. Once he emerged, he would have hundreds of sketches that he would give to Madame Marguerite, who then handed him out to the appropriate ateliers that would bring the designs to life. The last piece of the puzzle was Madame Misa Bricard, the wild card. While Dior was more conservative in style and wanted to return fashion to a sense of civility, it was Bricard that brought the edge. Hired as a hat maker, she quickly became much more. As models dressed, she whisked in the drawing room, adding the icing on the cake with jewelry and hats. Her voice was so trusted by Dior that if she didn't like something, he heard about it and he fully trusted her opinion. Miza was said to have had many husbands and lovers and was a bit of a 20th century courtesan, living in expensive hotels and arriving dailies in her veiled hats and always wearing leopard print. It's a neutral after all. She's my kind of gal. Little is known about the life of these three women outside of the doors of Dior, but I'll get to the bottom of it. For a man that was so devoted to his own mother and sister Catherine, it's no doubt that he surrounded himself with strong women and counted them as his closest confidants. From there, Madame Raymond and Madame Marguerite helped fill the ateliers with seamstresses and brought on their first tailor, Pierre Cardan. It was a first collection in 1947. The staff numbered more than 60 people. In less than nine years, it would be over a thousand. Next came the models. In an Olcoteur Atelier in the mid-20th century, you wouldn't find racks of dresses and designs. The pieces would be worn by models. The day would be filled with appointments by local clients, and the models would parade in and out with looks. And if the client liked something, they then tried the piece on or took their measurements and would return later for fitting. After the war, many young ladies were in need of a job, but the top models were already snatched up by the big houses, and Christian didn't want to take the girls from his fellow designers. Dior had an idea to place an ad in the paper. It was November 6, 1946, and the same day it was announced that all the brothels of Paris must be closed. When Christian arrived that morning at the door, the, as he said, unmistakable cohorts of the ladies of the streets were waiting. He went on to say that Madame Raymond was appalled, but he wanted to see each and every one of them. In the end, he found one very lovely young lady, Marie Therese, who became one of our best models. Although at a special showing of his debut pieces to close friends, the sweet Marie Therese was the first model to step out into the room of eager visitors and fall to the floor. She'd recover and go on to model daily in the Atelier and in his very first show. Dior remained working for Le Long until December 1st, just two weeks before his own house opened. The two had a very close friendship and Lelong would be there to support him on the first day in his very first show in 1947. The doors opened at 1030 AM on December 15, 1946, with Dior showing a few of his in-process creations for his close friends. The word quickly spread across Paris that what they witnessed was a fresh and needed vision of fashion in the postwar years. As the house expanded quickly, Dior purchased the neighboring buildings at 32 Avenue Manignon and eventually 13 Rue Francois Primier around the corner, plus the staples on the corner, which were later transformed into a seven-story store and office. A few short months later, the new look would take the fashion world by storm and revolutionize fashion and build an empire. Christian Dior would keep that cast iron star that he found 80 years ago this year in his pocket along with other lucky charms, including two hearts, a gold medallion, and always a sprig of Lily of the Valley. To this day, both the star and the lily remain essential elements in the Dior collections. At the Gallery Dior Museum in Paris, you could find a replica of the star at the start of the exhibition dedicated to his life. In 2017, the Musee des Arts Decoratif held an unforgettable exhibition dedicated to the first 70 years of the House of Dior. The same exhibit traveled around the world for years. I'll never forget walking into the Navy of the Musee des Arts Decoratif and seeing all those incredible pieces. I thought few things could ever top that, but the Gallery Dior does just that. Even if you're not a fashion fan, it's still something you want to see. It follows the history of Christian Dior, the designer himself, and what the label has become and all of the designers since then. It's a multimedia wonder filled with stunning fashion. It's open Wednesday through Mondays 11 to 6. They do close for a few weeks every three or four months to completely recreate each of the rooms. Tickets are highly recommended in advance and sell out at least a month out. You could arrive early before it opens and wait in line if you don't have tickets. You could also head out to Normandy and visit the former childhood home of Dior, the Roomba, which purchased by the city after his father lost most of his money in gambling to open the gardens to the public. Since 1997, it has served as a museum dedicated to Dior and focusing on Dior perfume. There's so much more, and I had to decide where to stop this, or it's just as usual, would keep going. But in February, when it is the 80th anniversary of his very first collection, I will tell you even more, and I've made a big list of all of the stuff that I want to share with you and the stuff I want to research about Dior. But if there's also a couple other things you should check out, Apple TV in 2024 did a show called The New Look. It focused on Dior as well as the road to create his house. It also tells the story of who Coco Chanel really was. And I mentioned her a few times. And as my dear friend Barandy knows that if I say the C-word, I don't mean that C word everybody else hates. I mean Coco Chanel. To me, I think she is the most despicable person. And if you want to know more about it, just Google Coco Chanel, World War II. This show was so great because it finally was an American production that fine that dealt with her horrible behavior that she did during World War II. But they also went a little easy on her. She was actually even worse than they depicted her. European television has done that since World War II. They have always told the real story. And if you are in France or you see anything that's like posted on social media that's done by like French Vogue or, you know, a company that's based in Europe or France, all of the comments will be she was a Nazi, she was horrible, she was a collaborator, why are you sharing this? But if it's an American Vogue or one of those places, everybody's like, oh, she's clash, she's amazing, she's that, because they've always kind of whitewashed her true persona in America. And so this, I was so happy when they did this show because they kind of go into it a little more. And I've had so many people watching that show reach out to me and be like, oh my gosh, I watched it and I saw what they said about her, and I was like, Thank you. Finally. They were supposed to make a second season of it, but it was right when the writer's strike started. So I'm hoping they make another one. Ben Mendelson is who plays Dior, and I thought he was just amazing. They did take a lot of liberties with the story. It's it's great, but you know, as I say, I wouldn't write your thesis on the information coming from the show, but it does give you a lot kind of an insight. But they don't didn't even have the star. I'm like the star that he found on the sidewalk was the whole, that just is such a huge thing about it. And I was kind of surprised. But I re-watched it again while I was do doing research for this, and I just got so angry, if you could tell in my voice. Every scene that they showed of uh Coco Chanel and the actress, I is it Julia Benoche plays her. Now I hate her too, because she played Coco Chanel. But you should watch it and then throw it anything you have that this Chanel go and give it to the Goodwill. Let somebody have it. But definitely check it out. It's on Apple TV. And if you want to know even more, and this is also a great thing in direct opposition to Chanel, is a book called Misty Or by Justine Picardy, and it is about his sister, uh Catherine. And the first time I read it, I had to stop and put it down for a while because it's so disturbing about what happened to her during World War II when she went to the camp in Germany, and it just was so graphic of how she was treated and how these men and women were treated in these camps, and it's just horrific. But I picked it back up and finished it, and it is so good, and it has a lot about, of course, her brother, Christian, and their relationship, and it's just it's so, it's really, really a wonderful story. And I referenced it a few times in this episode is the Dior by Dior, the book that he actually wrote. And he wrote that and it came out in 1956, and he died in 1957. And this was one, and it's really great, and I actually used it for a lot of my research because I wanted to get the stuff straight from the horse's mouth, as they would say. But it's a really great book, and I think I'm sure you could find it online. There's a lot of different versions, but the VA Museum in Britain did a reissue of it when they had the Dior exhibit that moved there after it was here in Paris. And if you were anywhere in I I know that it went to a couple places in the States, it went to Australia, it went all over the world. And I mean, for like a good five or six years, it was going around. And because it was so successful, that's why they opened the gallery Dior. And I just was there again the other day, and it is it's just such an amazing place. And every room you go into, you literally are your jaw drops because it's just phenomenal. And it includes pieces done by Yves Saint Laurent and Galliano and all and now the newest Jonathan Anderson. And the thing that I love about Dior, probably more than any of them, especially you have, you know, Balmont and Balenciaga, but they have moved so far away from what that how those houses were at the start. The thing about the Dior house and all of the designers, they've always really, really trusted the archives and the vision of Dior, and they keep that going. And Jonathan Anderson, probably more than anyone, is really for each collection. He just had his new collection, the Ready to Wear Spring Summer 2027. I think it was last week. It was, you know, he used all of these floral elements, and the floral goes back to Dior and going drive growing up in Grandville and his sister, and how Catherine used to sell flowers, and it all ties together. And they even, um Jonathan Anderson last year did a boot, and on the sole of the boot had the star. So I think I I just love that they use those archives and do all of that work to keep that going. And I think I think Monsieur Christian would be very proud today of what his house has become, and to think of how shy and nervous he was to see what it is today is just pretty incredible and definitely wanted us to show because Ben Mendelssohn was just so wonderful. And you just want to give Dior like a big, huge hug. It's like watching, you know, you think back at like Van Gogh and how Van Gogh, you know, sold one painting when he was alive, and he thought, why do I even do this? And now look, like Van Gogh is the most popular artist in the world. Like everybody knows who Van Gogh is. So it's pretty, pretty incredible. So definitely check that out. But we're not done with Dior. I'm gonna make him my whole life at this point. He's my favorite Christiane ever in fashion now. All right, guys, thank you so much. And make sure if you're not following me on Instagram or Substack or Facebook to do that because every week they are opening new exhibits right now in Paris, and I'm getting to them as soon as they open and sharing them with you, and there's some really, really great ones. So until next week, I will talk to you on Instagram and everywhere else. Bonjour, bonjour, and welcome to another new episode of Paris in Blue, Blanc, Rouge. I am Claudine Hemingway, and I am so excited to bring this story to you today. And it's about an event that happened 80 years ago this week. And pretty much everybody will probably know this name, and it is, of course, Christian Dior. And I have been in love with the story of Christian Dior, and I'm even more so now. And this is not the last time we're going to talk about Christian. There is so many things that I want to share with you, different landmark events that he