The choice of location, an easy decision

With its "reduced size and classic elegance without overwhelming pedigree", it was even situated close to a large hotel - ideal for the foreign clientele that he was targeting. He and his friend Suzanne Luling considered Place Vendôme to be old fashioned, so no Ritz.

The one-way traffic on Avenue George V, the narrowness of Faubourg-Saint-Honoré and Rue de Berri with its constant traffic jams ruled out the Prince-de-Galles, the George V, the Bristol and the Lancaster hotels. What remained was the Plaza and Avenue Montaigne which had the great asset of hosting, at number 30, this "very small, very closed house", "on a scale as modest as his dream was ambitious."

In the midst of construction work

Convinced that he could only set up his label within those walls, Christian Dior set off on a crusade and informed Boussac's headquarters that 30 avenue Montaigne must be his... because it was his home! His conviction was such that nobody dared contradict him. So on 16 December 1946 at around 9 a.m., the couturier inaugurated his townhouse... as well as the construction work that was to last until the very morning of the presentation of his first collection.

Over a little more than two months, 30 Avenue Montaigne bubbled with excitement. Through a doorway, in the midst of the construction work, one might bump into the prominent artist Christian Bérard. While taking his dog Jacinthe for a walk, the "mediator of all celebrations, all elegance" would offer his opinion on details and suggest small but decisive improvements.

The art of decoration

But the faithful recreation of the "decorated but not decorative" atmosphere to which Dior aspired was entrusted to Victor Grandpierre. "Our tastes were perfectly in tune thanks to a shared search for our childhood paradises." As the days passed, the building composed of a few rooms, showrooms and outbuildings that held the 85 people who formed the initial team, was adorned in the neoclassical Louis XVI style that the couturier had always loved.

White panelling, gilded mirrors, crystal chandeliers, Trianon grey walls, white lacquered furniture, doors glazed with bevelled squares of glass, bronze applied to small lampshades, Louis XVI medallions, wicker chairs, Jouy fabrics, Gruau designs, carefully-chosen flowers and other aesthetic delights... All confidently harbouring a classicism and simplicity "without dryness" aimed at not "distracting from the collection", but rather serving as a warm, elegant setting.

The staircase, a legendary symbol

What emanated from this fortuitous location was, above all, life and movement. Suzanne Luling and press agent Harrisson Elliott shared a tiny little office that opened onto the bull's eye of the entrance hall. Perfectly positioned to observe everyone entering and leaving the townhouse, they forgot about the troublesome draughts. The studio was installed in the former boudoir: to compensate for the room's lack of space, it was necessary to spread out to the landing and staircase in order to gain perspective.

It was a staircase that was to be invaded four days before the presentation of the first collection by the striking workers of a neighbouring house demanding that the work at the Dior workshops also be stopped in solidarity!

Extension over the years

The seasons passed in that unique effervescence that blended joy (especially on Saint Catherine's day when the offices, workshop and boutique were transformed into an enormous ball), labour and... the ever-present construction work, as the House was constantly being extended. From 1948, it became necessary to add a few floors above the old stables. Twenty-five thousand people were soon travelling every season to view the collections. The landing was enlarged by removing the lift. In 1949, the nearby 11b, 13 and 15 Rue François Ier were rented.

Seven years after its creation, Dior occupied five floors, had 28 workshops and employed over a thousand 1,000 people. The "modest townhouse" of 1946 had been transformed into a vast labyrinth of buildings on the corner of Avenue Montaigne and Rue François Ier. A visionary couturier, Christian Dior was also a modern company manager. His showrooms and workshops stood alongside social services, an infirmary fitted out by the architect Chaysson and a relaxation room for the models. A glass bridge overlooked the courtyard of the maintenance area before plunging to the building's basement where there was a cafeteria for everyone. The employees met there and crossed each other's paths, each paying according to what they earned. Christian Dior was later to install a bedroom next to his office, a private, intimate enclave in this temple of fashion, a benchmark of good taste, the benchmark of good taste around the world and a reminder that the name ‘couture house’ is made up of two very important words, only one of them being ‘couture’.

To this day, the beating heart of Dior remains at 30 Avenue Montaigne and the townhouse continues to inspire its designers. While François Demachy, Dior Perfume Designer created Gris Montaigne, a perfume "in homage to the historic boutique", Raf Simons, the ex-Artistic Director of the women's collections, welcomed guests to his Autumn-Winter 2013-2014 haute couture fashion show in an area decorated in the image of the original showrooms with their Trianon walls where the story of Dior began.