DIOR- BRAND ORIGINS

Christian Dior was born in Normandy in 1905 and moved to Paris with his family when he was five. Dior was always very artistic and began his journey when he took over a small art gallery his father bought for him. After family loss, Dior had to close his gallery and later on was drafted into war. It was after this he took his first steps into fashion.
Christian Dior founded his famous fashion house in 1946. The house of Dior officially sees 1947 as its year of conception with Dior showing his first collection in this year. The lines he presented were soon regarded at the 'New Look'.
In 1948, Dior then set up his luxury ready-to-wear house, the first if its kind, quickly followed by the launch of 'Dior Parfums'. Following this, Dior became the first couturier to arrange licensed production of his lines. He realised that the 'New Look' may not be successful without completing the full look including accessories. Because of this, he licensed his name to a range of luxury accessories which were also manufactured in regional centres across the globe. This spread his name globally around the world. Although this was a profitable move for Dior, it was heavily criticised by the French Chamber of Couture.

Brand Identity Onion

A brand identity onion is a good way of showing a concise overview of a brands identity. Once created, they can be used to ensure that all aspects of the business and branding reflect these values. This means you can create and maintain a clearer message.




The four layers explained:
  1. This is the outer layer to represent how the brand identity is made into reality by actions taken.
  2. This should show the brand personality and character.
  3. These lay the foundation for what the brand should stand for.
  4. This represents the heart and spirit of the brand.
Dior’s Brand Identity Onion
  1. To maintain their brand identity, Dior uses social media to promote their products, making sure they are seen on the right people to match their identity. By doing this, they then hope other people who are similar will see these products as a statement On Instagram, they keep a concise them within their images, so they portray the brands identity within everything they post. They then mix this with the use of celebrities to promote their products in a way that maintains their branding and boosts sales through their actions.
  • Dior is named after its founder, Christian Dior. This in itself means the personality is run throughout the branding, as everything links back to its roots. As opposed to a brand not named after a designer, we straight away get a sense of personality and everything they do has his name on it, so feel personal to who he was as a person. Dior has then kept its signature, bold black and white, logo which is known throughout households to sum up the elegance of the brand.
  • According to www.lvmh.com,  Dior is said to have one obsession: "to allow women to rediscover joy, elegance and beauty" (Christian Dior. Available at: https://www.lvmh.com/houses/fashion-leather-goods/christian-dior/ (Accessed: 26/03/20). This sums up what the brand was built on and still stands for today. It’s about making women feel good about themselves and keeping the brand a positive space for this to happen.

  • This essence of the brand is very similar to its values. It was built to make women feel elegant through timeless fashion and beauty products. The essence also heavily revolves around the founder, Christian Dior. Everything they do has his goals and personality in mind as this is what the brand was built upon. Because of this, I see the essence of the brand to focus on what Dior himself aimed to do at the beginning of his fashion journey.



I have then made a brand resonance pyramid, which you see above, highlighting different areas that the brand has been built on. These are words that will be taken into mind when doing any form of branding or communication for the brand.

References
Sowray. B.S. (2012), Christian DiorAvailable at: https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/christian-dior (Accessed: 26/03/20).

Christian Dior. Available at: https://www.lvmh.com/houses/fashion-leather-goods/christian-dior/ (Accessed: 26/03/20)

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