In the age of designer musical chairs, a new tome celebrates Dior’s quiet achiever
Almost three decades after concluding his unmatched tenure at Christian Dior, the designer Marc Bohan is suddenly front and centre again
Afternoon dress in orange wool jersey, Haute Couture Spring-Summer 1972. Dior Heritage collection, Paris. Gift of HRH the Duchess of Windsor Laziz Hamani/Courtesy of Dior
Green Park day dress in scarlet wool, Haute Couture Autumn-Winter 1961, Charme 62 collection. Dior Héritage collection, Paris.Laziz Hamani/Courtesy of Dior
Evening ensemble in black velvet embroidered with gold, metallic gray, and black paillettes, embellished with cockerel feathers at the waist, Haute Couture Autumn- Winter 1986. Palais Galliera, City of Paris Fashion Museum collection. Gift of Christian Dior Laziz Hamani/Courtesy of Dior
Rosine short dress in ivory silk gabardine (detail), Haute Couture Autumn-Winter 1961, Charme 62 collection. Musée Christian Dior collection, Granville.Laziz Hamani/Courtesy of Dior
Evening ensemble in red and blue satin with trompe-l’œil collar, embroidered with a floral motif in red paillettes and black beads, Haute Couture Spring-Summer 1983. FIDM Museum at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising collection, Los Angeles. Gift of Mrs. Alfred Bloomingdale Laziz Hamani/Courtesy of Dior
Trapeze-style dress in black cotton canvas, Haute Couture Spring-Summer 1969. Dior Héritage collection, ParisLaziz Hamani/Courtesy of Dior
Tunic dress in cotton embroidered with silver thread, beads, and blue and pink paillettes, Haute Couture Spring-Summer 1966. The Metropolitan Museum of Art collection, New York. Gift of Baron Philippe de Rothschild, 1983Laziz Hamani/Courtesy of Dior
Rosine short dress in ivory silk gabardine, Haute Couture Autumn-Winter 1961, Charme 62 collection. Musée Christian Dior collection, Granville.Laziz Hamani/Courtesy of Dior
Short trapeze dress in white cotton embroidered with multicolor paisley motifs (detail), Haute Couture Spring-Summer 1969. Musée des Arts Décoratifs collection, Paris. Legacy of Mr. Georges, in memory of the Duchess of Windsor, 1986Laziz Hamani/Courtesy of Dior
Evening dress in white and red cotton gabardine, Haute Couture Spring-Summer 1966. FIDM Museum at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising collection, Los Angeles. Gift of Mrs. Alfred Bloomingdale Laziz Hamani/Courtesy of Dior
Evening dress in yellow silk gazar, Haute Couture Spring-Summer 1983. FIDM Museum at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising collection, Los Angeles. gift of Mrs. Alfred Bloomingdale Laziz Hamani/Courtesy of Dior
Evening ensemble in scarlet silk taffeta and silk jersey, Haute Couture Autumn-Winter 1976. FIDM Museum at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising collection, Los Angeles. Gift of Mrs. Alfred Bloomingdale Laziz Hamani/Courtesy of Dior
Short trapeze dress in white cotton embroidered with multicolor paisley motifs, Haute Couture Spring-Summer 1969. Musée des Arts Décoratifs collection, Paris. Legacy of Mr. Georges, in memory of the Duchess of Windsor, 1986Laziz Hamani/Courtesy of Dior
Imagine, say during a particularly niche round of pub trivia, that you were asked to name those designers who have assumed the reins at Christian Dior in the years since its namesake founder died suddenly. Even the most apathetic follower of fashion could name two, or perhaps three. Chances are you’d think first of the incumbent Maria Grazia Chiuri, and her predecessor, Raf Simons. You’d think too of the once disgrace John Galliano, and maybe once you’ve rewound even further, of Yves Saint Laurent. Perhaps it’s around then that you’d come up stumps. If you could name Gianfranco Ferré, the architectural Italian designer, the meat tray would be yours beyond any doubt. If you were able to round out the list with Marc Bohan – well, what on earth are you doing at pub trivia?
Bohan, now 91, is arguably one of the least known designers to have held the title of Creative Director at Dior. The designer, who helmed the house for just under 30 years, strove to move the house toward a more wearable version of Dior haute couture, and steered it away from the dictum of designing “clothes for flower-like women” that Monsieur Dior famously espoused, with their “rounded shoulders, full feminine busts, and handspan waists above enormous spreading skirts.”
To this date, Bohan – who joined the house in 1957 when Monsieur Dior offered him a position as a secondary assistant under Saint Laurent – still enjoys the longest relationship between a designer and the house of Dior. Three years after joining the atelier, Bohan assumed the role of Creative Director and ushered in the Slim Look, an era that encouraged women of the age to dress “in an unhindered manner”.
“The silhouette is supple, slim, the shoulders are natural, the waist sinuous, the hips are very flat. The skirts flare gently in an alert movement and stop just below the knee,” the collection’s press release noted at the time of its unveiling for autumn-winter in 1961.
Bohan’s legacy is now being celebrated in Dior by Marc Bohan, a new monograph published by Assouline and the third in a series of seven books devoted to the designers who succeeded each other at the head of the House. Contained within is a rigorous examination of Bohan’s exhaustive, though oft-overlooked, legacy by the writer Jérôme Hanover, accompanied by both archival images and stunning studio photography shot by Laziz Hamani. Of note too is the light the book sheds on Bohan’s relationship with the art world – something that has since become a defining trait for the house’s many designers. In particular, Bohan enjoyed a fruitful friendship with the artist Niki de Saint Phalle, whose singular works appear in the form of embroidery across current season ready-to-wear and accessories available now at Dior. After all these years, Bohan, it would appear, is ready to step into the spotlight once again.
