Christian Dior Couture designs and markets women's clothing, shoes, fine jewelry, handbags, and accessories

Sara Hashem

Christian Dior Couture S.A. designs and markets women's clothing, shoes, fine jewelry, handbags, and accessories. The company's collections include Dior Leopard, Dior Star, Dior Logo Flowers, Dior D'Trick, and Dior Rasta. The company was incorporated in 1961 and is based in Paris, France. Christian Dior Couture S.A. operates as a subsidiary of Christian Dior SA.

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The Christian Dior Group (Paris:CDI) recorded revenue of EUR5.5 billion in the first quarter of 2011, an increase of 17.5%. Organic* revenue growth stood at 14.6% compared to the same period in 2010, which had itself shown strong growth. The Group had an excellent start to the year, continuing the trends seen at the end of 2010. The United States, Europe and Asia enjoyed strong momentum. After the earthquake in Japan, the Group's local teams worked hard to effect a gradual return to normal business.

Revenues from Christian Dior Couture for the first quarter stood at EUR221 million, an increase of 22% at current exchange rates and 19% at constant exchange rates. The first quarter was notable for the strong growth dynamic of its retail business, which recorded revenue growth of 28% at current exchange rates and 24% at constant exchange rates.

All regions registered double-digit growth: Europe, America and Asia, despite the events in Japan.

Taking into account the geopolitical and economic environment, the Christian Dior Group will continue to focus its efforts on developing its brands, will maintain a strict control over costs and will target its investments on the quality, the excellence and the innovation of its products and of their distribution. The Group will rely on the talent and motivation of its teams, the diversification of its businesses and the good geographical balance of its revenues to increase, once again in 2011, its leadership of the global high quality products market.

DIOR ANNOUNCES COLLABORATION WITH ICELANDIC GLACIAL

Los Angeles, CA (December 8, 2010) – Parfums Christian Dior and Icelandic Water Holdings ehf have announced that Dior will exclusively use Icelandic Glacial to hydrate its skincare cosmetics products because of its optimal biological properties including brightening efficacy. As the world’s first CarbonNeutral® certified bottled spring water for both product and operations, Icelandic Glacial delivers a water of exceptional purity to consumers with a “net zero” carbon footprint.

Icelandic Glacial’s water hails from Iceland’s pristine Ölfus Spring, a naturally replenished catchment zone formed during a massive volcanic eruption more than 4,500 years ago, and which has been deemed certifiably sustainable by Zenith International, Europe’s leading food and drinks consultancy.

The company, an environmental pioneer in the industry, uses 100% natural green energy in the form of geothermal and hydroelectric power to fuel production.

“Icelanders have the longest life expectancies in the world and are known for their natural, healthy skin. Icelandic Glacial, an award-winning natural spring water has long been suspected to have critical health and beauty benefits,” said Jon Olafsson, chairman and co-founder, Icelandic Glacial. “With Icelandic Glacial’s exceptional purity and optimal mineral balance, we are proud that Christian Dior selected our water to help enhance the efficacy of their skincare products.”

“For the first time, we have decided to take care of an inert ingredient present at strong concentration in cosmetic formulations: water, and have decided to replace it by a cosmetic active ingredient, Icelandic Glacial water. We are very proud of the results obtained” said Claude Martinez, President & CEO of Parfums Christian Dior.

The first Dior skincare products infused with Icelandic Glacial water will be officially launched in 2012, with pilot productions in 2010 and 2011.

About Christian Dior 
Dior, an international company: 32 subsidiaries in 5 continents, 2 industrial sites and 1 research center, more than 8,600 employees, more than 25,200 points of sale worldwide…

Dior Skincare : Science and Creation 
With its 40 years of research, Dior Skincare has been able to gain women’s trust and assure the legitimacy and scientific credibility of its products. Linking scientific know-how to the pursuit of beauty is the key to these products whose simplicity allows them to remain timeless. Contributing to the enchantment of women through innovation and high standards of quality, developing products with unparalleled efficacy and creating incredibly pleasant textures: these are the missions of our researchers.

The research surrounding stem cells and the rare natural substances found in the biodiversity of the 
Dior Gardens are the secrets of the entire Dior Skincare range.

About Icelandic Glacial Natural Spring Water 
As the world’s first CarbonNeutral® certified bottled spring water for both product and operations, Icelandic Glacial delivers a water of exceptional purity to consumers with a “net zero” carbon footprint. 
Located in Ölfus, Iceland, Icelandic Glacial is an environmental pioneer in the industry. The company uses 100% natural green energy in the form of geothermal and hydroelectric power to fuel production. The source of Icelandic Glacial is the legendary Ölfus Spring, a naturally replenished catchment zone formed during a massive volcanic eruption more than 4,500 years ago, and which has been deemed certifiably sustainable by Zenith International, Europe’s leading food and drinks consultancy. 
Icelandic Glacial was named “Best Water of 2007” by industry experts BevNET, and also received accolades for the “Best Sustainability Initiative” at the 2007 BottledWaterWorld awards.
Icelandic Glacial is distributed in the United States by Anheuser-Busch, which took a 20 percent ownership stake in the company in July 2007.

Although Christian Dior died in 1957, he is perhaps one of the most famous fashion designers of both the 20th and 21st centuries. In the years after the debut of his first collection in 1947 he was a legendary figure and the world press developed an extraordinary love affair with him, increasing their enthusiasm with each new collection. Dior never disappointed them, constantly creating clothes that were newsworthy as well as beautiful.

Dior was middle-aged when he achieved fame. A sensitive and gentle personality, he had previously worked as a fashion illustrator, then as a design assistant for both Robert Piguet and Lucien Lélong in Paris. In 1946 the French textile magnate Marcel Boussac offered to finance the opening of Dior's own couture house and secured the lease on 30 avenue Montaigne, Paris. The first collection was revolutionary, heralded as the "New Look" by the fashion press— Dior himself had christened it the "Corolle Line." It was a composition of rounded shoulders, shapely emphasis of the bust, cinched waist, and curvaceous bell-shaped skirt in luxurious fabric.

The concept of the collection was not new, bearing a striking resemblance to French fashions of the 1860s. Dior himself attributed his inspiration to the pretty, elegant clothes he had remembered his mother wearing to the Deauville races in the 1900s. Even though several other designers had experimented with or predicted the new silhouette, Dior's luxurious version reawakened the world to the importance of Parisian couture. At a standstill during World War II, Paris had lost its way as the world's fashion capital. Dior reestablished it as a center of excellence, creating what Janey Ironside of the Royal College of Art in London described as "a new chance in life, a new love affair."

There were many criticisms of the New Look; feminists have argued it was an attempt to return women to an oppressed, decorative role with its emphasis on the restrictive padding, corset, and crinoline. Others were shocked by the extravagant use of ornament and fabric when clothes were still being rationed. The New Look, however, rapidly became a postwar cultural symbol for what Dior himself described as "Youth, hope, and the future." After creating a furor with his first collection, Dior established himself as a cautious, methodical designer. Subsequent collections were a continuation of the New Look theme of highly constructed clothes. They were christened with names that described their silhouettes, the Zig Zag Line, A Line, Y Line, Arrow Line, etc. All the collections were realized with the finest tailoring and the most sumptuous fabrics: satins, traditional suiting, fine wools, taffetas, and lavish embroideries.

Throughout Dior's ten years of fame, none of his collections failed, either critically or commercially. The only threat to his run of success occurred when Chanel made a fashion comeback in 1954 at the age of 71. Chanel's philosophy—clothes should be relaxed, ageless, dateless, and easy to wear—completely opposed Dior's philosophy. "Fifties Horrors," was how she described male couturiers, deploring them for torturing bodies into ridiculous shapes. Dior's reaction was to introduce his most unstructured collection, the "Lily of the Valley" line was young, fresh, and unsophisticated. Relaxed, casual jackets with pleated skirts and sailor-collared blouses, these Dior clothes were easy and beautiful.

By the time Dior died his name had become synonymous with taste and luxury. The business had an estimated turnover of $20-million annually, a phenomenal figure in those days, thanks in part to Dior's own shrewdness. Dior organized licence agreements to manufacture accessories internationally, and at the time of his death, perfume, furs, scarves, corsetry, knitwear, lingerie, costume jewelry, and shoes were being produced.

Many of Dior's associates have said that his death was timely and that his work and fashion philosophy were entirely suited to his period. It would be interesting to speculate how Dior would have adapted to the excesses of fashion in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, because, as his former personal assistant, Madame Raymonde, once said, "If Dior had lived, fashion would not be in the state it is in now." Nor would his business have gone through multiple owners, or his name become so overlicensed its cachet was nearly lost. After years of struggle, the Dior reclaimed its licenses and rebuilt an empire in the capable hands of Bernard Arnault who bought the firm in 1984 from its bankrupt owner, Agache-Willot.

Many top designers have had stints at Dior, including Yves Saint Laurent who took over after Christian's death, followed by Marc Bohan, Gianfranco Ferré, and John Galliano. Galliano's bad-boy image brought much attention to Dior, but his designs have reinvigorated the house and once again brought renown to the Dior name.