Кристиан Диор

by Marie-France Pochna, Мари-Франс Пошна

Широка разкроена пола, закачливо наклонена шапка, дръзка походка - когато този женски силует се появява, е самата женственост, истинска алегория на Париж - непокорна палавница, обвеяна от безгрижна забрава, създание със сладострастни форми, шеметна смес от лудост, елегантност и изисканост...
Стилът new look изстрелва Диор на върха на славата и раздвижва духа на скованото следвоенно общество. Това е "великото" време на cafe society, искряща смес от бъдещи творци и аристократичния Париж, потънал във великолепието на XIX век. Но истинските създатели на успеха на Диор са американците, по това време очаровани и заслепени от "стара Европа". Диор добре разбира това и пръв успява да комерсиализира присъщата на Франция традиция към добрия вкус и елегантността.
Тази първа биография на Кристиан Диор ни представя непознат човек, създател на най-известната модна марка в света. Спомени, свидетелства и страници от лични дневници ни разкриват един щедър и изключително забавен, но също и дълбоко потаен и дискретен човек, който скрива своята хомосексуалност. Неговият живот е истински роман, обгърнат от приятелство, музика и цветя, в който обаче при цялата му слава липсва едно-единствено нещо - спокойствието. Името на Кристиан Диор славно блести на модния небосклон, преди големият майстор да си отиде от този свят едва на 52 години.

Genres: Fashion, Business, Biography, Art, Nonfiction

376 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Anna Sher. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to the way the author placed emphasis throughout the book, it was easy to understand how Dior’s great talent was formed. I believe this is the most important aspect of the biography. She made a great effort to convey the atmosphere and the key developments in Dior’s career. The book has a warm and sentimental tone.

What I was missing, however, was a deeper exploration of Dior’s relationships with his brothers, sisters, and family in general. The author sheds light on Dior’s relationship with his mother, but for some reason omits the rest. I feel that a fuller picture of the family is an essential element of any biography.

It was also a little annoying that the author occasionally did not maintain a clear chronology in her storytelling and sometimes repeated her thoughts. She overused long lists of names of people who surrounded Dior at different phases of his life and career. I understand the value of including these lists — perhaps the intention was to document them — but they were difficult to read and process.

Overall, I loved the book. It was worth reading.

[Corina Vatafu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comprehensive and thoroughly documented depiction of Christian Dior's life, from childhood until his final day.
For me, this novel is divided into two parts:
1st one - describing CD's life before the foundation of House of Dior: this part was rather mentioning too many names and figures that CD has encountered in his life, referencing people that could easily have been left out of the story. I was thinking to rate the book 3* max while reading this part;
2nd one - from the moment House of Dior is founded: now starts the real deal, the story is a lot better built and descibred, CD's life story grew a lot on me and a lot of emotions came by as I was advancing through the story. Enjoyed it more and more and by the end of it I was eager to research more about CD, search for videos and pictures and additional interviews.

Great lecture for those interested in learning not only about CD, but also about how he built an empire and scaled a business as it was never done before. The perfect mix between an artist and an entrepreneur.

[Maria Dovnar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing story about struggle and victory in the history of art.

[Christina Barzdukas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very elegantly put and explorative of all Dior's angles.

[Renata · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ši knyga apie kuklų, turintį griežtus profesinius standartus ir išskirtiniu dėmesiu kokybei žmogų, kuriam pavyko pažadinti prancūzų pokario madą iš letargo miego bei tuom sužavėti amerikiečius.
Skaitėsi lėtokai, buvo įdomesnių ir ne tokių įdomių vietų, bet knyga - vertinga norint pažinti ne tik patį Diorą, bet ir jo sukurtą verslo modelį bei mados etiketą.
Labai pasigedau nuotraukų, nes nei vienos nebuvo, kas yra įprasta biografijoms.
Perskaičius susimąsčiau, kas svarbiau - asmeninė laimė ar sėkmė mylimoje veikloje? ar gyvenime abu dalykus galima turėti?...

[Linawings · Rating 4 out of 5]

Историята на живота на Кристиан Диор определено е впечатляваща - в нея не трагизмът е водещ, а посланието, че талантът и стремежът към красота е неизбежно да се проявят, независимо от историческите премеждия на времето и собствената възраст. Впечатли ме портретът на Диор като ненатрапчив творчески гений със свои малки екстравагантности, но здраво стъпил на земята и заобиколен от верен приятелски кръг, благодарение на който се справя с предизвикателствата на таланта, времето и страстите си.

[Ravi Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written, very informative, good pictures from what is obviously Dior's private collection. A very good insight into what were Dior's origins, his family background and how the world took to Dior. I would say this is the seminal work on Dior, do not bother to read anything else.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book before the exhibit at the DAM of Dior's work. I was really glad I read it because I learned so much about his life which explains his genius in designing clothes. His genius exceeds his life, there is still a house of Dior.

[Yankokirkov]

Yan