All the creative directors in Dior history Many designers have worked at 30 Avenue Montaigne in the last 76 years

To define Dior's importance on the fashion scene, this anecdote is enough: on the death of the founder, in 1957, the then CEO ante litteram, Jacques Rouët, proposed to close the brand but, as Dior's exports represented 50% of all French fashion exports of that time, both the licensees of the brand and the fashion industry authorities French simply prevented him from closing their doors. This is how Yves Saint Laurent found his first job and, if things had turned out differently, today we probably wouldn't have a Dior or a Saint Laurent – and the rest of the luxury fashion scenario would be immediately different.

It is surprising, however, to note that, over the course of 76 years of life, the greatest talents of the design world have alternated with the creative leadership of the brand: Saint Laurent, Gianfranco Ferrè, John Galliano, Hedi Slimane, Raf Simons, Lucie Meier – all examples of great creatives who have enriched the identity of a historic brand. And this without even counting the current creative directors, Kim Jones and Maria Grazia Chiuri, and putting in place of his own Marc Bohan, the director who managed the house for the longest time, who among all had the merit of conceiving the structure of the brand as we know it now, of founding its male line and inventing its most famous pattern, the Dior Oblique.

To help clarify the succession, which in the course of management's upheavals tend to become a bit confusing and overlap, here are all Dior's creative directors.

Christian Dior (1946-1957)

After Van Assche was re-appointed to Berluti's creative direction, former Louis Vuitton creative director Kim Jones was called upon to replace him and bring a new and youthful mood to Dior Homme. His collections have certainly reversed Van Assche's soft but formal aesthetic in favour of an extremely more pop approach: his debut show took place under the insignia of KAWS, a literal slap in the face to Van Assche's dark and scholastic formality – the reference to black is not causal because, if we wanted to compare the colour palettes of Jones' fashion shows with those of the previous director, the main difference is precisely the lightening and freshness of the colours, going from dark to lively, also thanks to a search for naturally bright and reflective materials that make even the predominantly dark collections such as the FW19 look luscious.