Paris-ALsharqiya, September 9: Dior announced the death of designer Marc Bohan, who remained its artistic director for 30 years, making him the longest-serving designer in this position.
Bohan died at the age of 97, and despite his long period as artistic director of one of the most famous luxury fashion houses in the world, he was not very well known to the public other than the designers who took over this position after him, such as Gianfranco Ferre and John Galliano.
Marc Bohan was known for his skills in the field of tailoring, and he succeeded in preserving the spirit of the founder of the house, Mr. Dior, in the collections that he presented. He was behind the opening of Dior to new clients thanks to his launch of the women's ready-to-wear lines Miss Dior, the men's Dior Monsieur, and the children's Baby Dior.
Marc Bohan was born in 1926 in Paris, and he was passionate about drawing and fashion since his childhood, encouraged by his mother, who was a fashion and hat maker. Bohan joined the Christian Dior team in 1957 and was responsible for creating its collections in London. His first collection for the house was called "Slim Look", and he presented it for the spring and summer of 1961. These designs were distinguished by their comfortable nature and the focus on the "tayour" consisting of a skirt and a jacket, and this group was a great success.
Mark Bohan was very close to the French writer Françoise Sagan, and among his most prominent clients was the Duchess of Windsor and Farah Diba, the Empress of Iran, who wore one of his designs during her coronation ceremony in 1967. The American First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy was a fan of his design style, so she asked her accredited fashion designer Oleg Cassini asked her to make copies of Bohan's designs for Dior.
After leaving the artistic management duties at the House of Dior in 1989, Mark Bohan moved to the position of artistic director at the British House of Norman Hartnell, and he remained in this position until 1992. Bohan was known for his passion for theater and opera, which explains his interest in designing theatrical costumes. In 1983 and 1988, he was awarded the "Golden Thimble", which is considered the most important award a fashion designer can receive.
