Becoming Christian Dior
Original title: Devenir Christian Dior
Synopsis
What a life, embroidered entirely into the fabric of dreams!– Dominique Bona of the Académie française
An astounding destiny, a life in patchwork. François-Olivier Rousseau brilliantly traces the life of the fashion designer right up to his dazzling success. – Le Figaro Littéraire
In a flamboyant style, François-Olivier Rousseau takes us to the land of art and draws a sensitive portrait of a young man who had difficulties becoming Christian Dior. — Marie-France
With a delicate pen, François-Olivier Rousseau tells Dior in all its aspects. This fictional biography reveals the nuanced personality of a chic type, too often masked by his character. — Elle
The author offers us a very fine essay which reads with great curiosity.
— BooknpicsA journey through the artistic avant-garde of the roaring twenties and in the sparkling world of fashion, this fictionalised biography brings the turbulent life of an exceptional designer back to life. — Le petit crayon
In this highly fictionalised account, François-Olivier Rousseau gives us an unparalleled novelistic life story, a hymn to the self-made star, a cartography of old school entrepreneurship, and a real inside look into the literary aristocracy of Paris society that is still the stuff of dreams today. — L’étudiant autonome
What could be better to round off the week that a bit of dreaming in the land of luxury par excellence: the world of fashion? — Pause Earl Grey
It was a real treat to read François-Olivier Rousseau. His writing manages to stay simple to present all the information he shares. I love these well-documented books that teach us so much in a nice and accessible form. — lalecturienne.com
In an elegant style, this novelistic biography tells the story of Christian Dior, plunging us into the cultural and artistic avant-garde of the first half of the twentieth century.
In Paris, in the twenties, a young man was seeking out his path. He would spend evenings at the ‘Boeuf sur le toit’ with already-famous artists who all already saw him as one of their own. Christian, not yet Dior, did not know how to express his talent. He hesitated, feeling his way, designing hats for the famous couturier, Robert Piguet, and doing illustrations for the fashion press. But the war brought his ambitions to a halt: he found himself employed on a farm.
After the Liberation he went back to Paris and in 1947 he presented his first collection. The New Look was met with instant global success. The Dior house became the embodiment of French chic, and Dior himself at once became myth.
Marketing Information
- Over 5,000 copies sold
- Longlisted for the Prix Renaudot Essay 2016
- Film rights sold for international production (Ocema Media)
Foreign Covers


