DIOR Paris Royale boutique - Rated 4,3

DIOR Paris Royale boutique is one of Christian Dior Couture's stores specializing in couture and haute couture creations. Dior's head office is at 30 avenue Montaigne, 75008 Paris, and is due to move soon to the Champs-Elysées. Dior is renowned for its unrivalled expertise in fashion and luxury. Its name is associated with such iconic creations as the Bar suit, the Lady Dior bag and the J'adore perfume.

DIOR Paris Royale boutique - A prestigious address

It's a prestigious address on rue Royale, in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, close to the Eglise de la Madeleine and rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré. Christian Dior Couture is a symbol of French elegance and excellence, which continues to seduce fashion enthusiasts the world over.

DIOR Paris Royale boutique and also Baby Dior and Dior Kids

In a sophisticated, modern decor, you'll find the brand's men's and women's models, as well as jewelry, watches and Dior Phone products.

A new Baby Dior and Dior Kids boutique has opened in Paris, at number 25 rue Royale, in the Village Royal. Next to a Dior adult boutique at the entrance to the Village.

Right from the entrance, the Dior Kids lines are on display in a décor that, with its antique fireplaces and walls adorned with plates, evokes a family home.

Further back, in a space whose ceiling is painted by Mathias Kiss, we find the creations of the Baby Dior line. Finally, the first floor of this hundred-square-meter boutique is devoted to evening wear and exceptional garments.

Created in 1967, the Baby Dior line boasts some twenty boutiques worldwide, two of which are now in Paris.

The Christian Dior legend

In the aftermath of the Second World War, this great fashion designer reinvented fashion and women's ready-to-wear with his legendary Corolle collection. Full skirts, tilted hats, emphasized bosoms and marked waists - this collection, which was nicknamed the New Look across the Atlantic, earned the respect of many, but also the ridicule of some.

This revolution was the brainchild of Christian Dior, the son of industrialists born in 1905 in Granville, Normandy. The second of five siblings, he spent his youth in Paris, dreaming of art and architecture. In 1925, with his father's financial support, he opened a gallery featuring works by Braque, Picasso, Cocteau and Max Jacob.

Following the closure of his gallery in 1931, Christian Dior became a fashion illustrator for Le Figaro Illustré, then creative assistant to couturier Robert Piguet. Called up for military service during the short-lived French debacle in 1940, he was subsequently hired by couturier Lucien Lelong. Condemned to dress the wives of Nazi occupiers and French collaborators, he retained the greatest affection for his sister, a member of the Resistance. He dedicated his first perfume, Miss Dior, to her in 1947.

Christian Dior's real start up

In 1946, businessman Marcel Boussac financed the opening of his own fashion house at 30 Avenue Montaigne in Paris. With comfortable means and total freedom, Christian Dior was able to reinvent fashion for the next decade. In addition to the Corolle collection in 1947, which gave women back the power of seduction after the deprivation of the war years, he astonished again in 1954 with the H line, which liberated women's waists.

Couturier to the stars, his sudden death from a heart attack in Italy in 1957 left the empire orphaned, but his succession was assured, first with Yves-Saint-Laurent, then for twenty-eight years, Marc Bohan. He brilliantly ensured the continuity of the house. Then it was Italian Gianfranco Ferré's turn, followed by John Galliano, who made the brand famous from 1996 to 2011, before his antics forced him to retire, leaving the place to Belgian Raf Simons. On July 8, 2016, Maria Grazia Chiuri, Dior's first female artistic director, was appointed artistic director of the brand in place of Raf Simons. In 2017 the "Dior Book Tote" bag is the artist's first original leather goods creation. In 2018, it's the turn of the "Saddle" bag to be reinvented by Maria Grazia Chiuri.

Who controls Dior Couture? 

It's a long and financially complicated story. In 1984, Bernard Arnault bought the Boussac Saint-Frères textile group, owner of the Christian Dior brand, and became CEO in 1985. He also became Chairman of the LVMH - Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton group in 1988, and in 1989 reunited Parfums Christian Dior, formerly owned by Moët-Hennessy, and the couture division, which had been separate since 1968, within the holding company Christian Dior SE. In 1996, he called on couturier John Galliano, then Victoire de Castellane in 1998, for Haute Joaillerie, continuing the idea of global luxury that Christian Dior had initiated.

Almost continuous adaptation

In the 2000s and 2010s, Dior diversified its products, notably towards jewelry and watches. Under the direction of Victoire de Castellane, the Jewelry and Watchmaking lines take on increasing importance, like the "D de Dior" watch released in 2003, the first men's watch "Chiffre Rouge" in 2004, or "Dior Christal" in 2005. The "Dior VIII" is launched in 2011. In the years that follow, several artistic directors succeed each other in this position.

Perfumes are also essential products of the Dior brand. François Demachy, Dior's exclusive perfumer for 15 years and creator of "Dior Sauvage", retires. Francis Kurkdjian takes over as "Dior's perfumer".

Dior today, results and management

In 2023, Christian Dior's sales reached 86 billion Euros, up 8% on 2022. Net income also rose to 5.9 billion Euros.

Christian Dior is controlled directly or indirectly by the Arnault family.

In November 2017, Sidney Toledano, CEO of Christian Dior Couture for almost 20 years, handed over to Pietro Beccari. Since March 2018, Kim Jones has headed the men's line, succeeding Kris Van Assche who had headed it for eleven years.

In 2023, Delphine Arnault is appointed President and CEO and Olivier Bialobos Deputy CEO.