2023-09-16 18:23:00
He dressed queens, princesses, First Ladies, actresses and even an empress but Marc Bohan was not as well known to the general public as Karl Lagerfeld, Valentino or Yves Saint-Laurent. However, it was he who was at the helm of the Christian Dior house from 1961 to 1989. He died at the age of 97 in Châtillon-sur-Seine where he had retired for several years.
Born in Verrières-le-Buisson, Roger Bohan arrived at the fashion designer Robert Piguet in 1946. He was asked to change his first name because the house’s financial director was also called Roger. This is how he became Marc Bohan. There he meets another fashion virtuoso Hubert de Givenchy. After his military service, he joined Molyneux before setting up his own label which only lasted for a first collection. Hired at Patou, he met Christian Dior. Quickly, things get along well between the two men. Monsieur Dior suggests that he join his fashion house and work with his first assistant, a certain Yves Saint-Laurent. But Christian Dior dies unexpectedly the day before signing the contract…
Marc Bohan is sent to Dior London. In the meantime, Yves Saint-Laurent, who succeeded Monsieur Dior, was called up for military service and hospitalized for depression. The owner of Dior, Marc Broussac, brought Bohan back to Paris. The 1961 collection was applauded by critics.
Dior already has different highnesses among its clients but with the Bohan style, they will become even more loyal. Empress Farah of Iran wears a Dior dress during her coronation in 1967. The Duchess of Windsor is a frequent visitor to the house on Avenue Montaigne.
Princess Grace of Monaco will wear many creations, a large panel of which was exhibited at the Dior museum in Granville before the pandemic. It was the princess who inaugurated the first boutique of the “Baby Dior” line in 1967 in Paris.
In 1976, Silvia Sommerlath, who was going to marry King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, entrusted her wedding dress to Marc Bohan. A model that has become iconic in its elegance and purity. Two years later, it was logically to Marc Bohan that Princess Caroline of Monaco turned for her religious marriage to Philippe Junot. During her civil remarriage to Stefano Casiraghi in 1984, the princess once once more placed her trust in Bohan who became close to the Grimaldi family. Princess Stéphanie is also doing an internship under his supervision in the Dior workshops in Paris.
In the 1980s, Caroline of Monaco was its most beautiful showcase, elegantly wearing her evening dresses during major events on the Rock such as the Rose Ball and the Red Cross Ball. In 1984, the Dior house, on the verge of bankruptcy, was purchased by businessman Bernard Arnault who would form the LVMH luxury empire over the years.
In 1989, Marc Bohan learned that he had been fired by reading it in the press. Bernard Arnault, who intends to give new impetus to the collections, sought out Gianfranco Ferré in Italy.
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