Christian Dior: Destiny: The Authorized Biography

The House of Diorʼs official biography reveals the secretive and surprising man who revolutionized fashion, with new insight on his spirituality and relationships and a contemporary perspective on his legacy. Christian Dior is renowned as the architect of the New Look, the epitome of elegance and beauty. But Dior’s own life, privileged as it began in glittering Belle Époque France, was marked by loss and hardship through the Wall Street Crash and under the Occupation in World War II. From the extremes of both wealth and poverty, and using the talents he had developed amid the bohemian crowd of Paris’s left bank—his eye for fashion, skill as an illustrator, and gift for friendship—Christian Dior emerged, dynamic and more resolute than ever, to found the Maison Dior.

Marie-France Pochna

Marie-France Pochna is an award-winning expert on style, fashion, and the luxury market. Author of Christian Dior: Destiny: The Authorized Biography, Pochna is the recognized authority on Dior.

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  • The author of several landmark biographies, Marie-France Pochna is also a radio commentator, university professor, and frequent guest speaker in both Europe and America.

    A luxury industry watcher and authority on the power and influence that drives a multi-billion dollar industry, Marie-France Pochna has written definitive accounts of some of its leading exponents. Her first book, Bonjour Mr. Boussac (1980), dealt with the textile magnate Marcel Boussac, founder of the house of Christian Dior. It won Prix Louis Marin from the Académie Française. The vast empire of this reclusive designer formed the basis of what is now Louis Vuitton-Moet Hennessy, the world’s leading luxury conglomerate. This exploration stirred Ms. Pochna’s interest in the power and influence of fashion. Her other books include the biographies of Nina Ricci (1988), Christian Dior (1994), and Paul Ricard (1996).

Matthew Yokobosky

Matthew Yokobosky was appointed Senior Curator of Fashion and Material Culture at the Brooklyn Museum in 2018, having most recently held the position of Director of Exhibition Design.

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  • Since 1999, Matthew has designed over 95 temporary and permanent exhibitions at the Brooklyn Museum, including Hiroshige: One-Hundred Famous Views of Edo (2000), the critically acclaimed Luce Center for American Art: Visible Storage – Study Center (2001/2005), Basquiat (2005), Who Shot Rock & Roll (2009; also exhibition editor), The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier (2013), Killer Heels (2014), The Rise of Sneaker Culture (2015), David Bowie is (2018, also coordinating curator), Pierre Cardin: Future Fashion (2019), and Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams (2021).

    Prior to joining the Brooklyn Museum, Matthew was the Associate Curator of Film and Video at the Whitney Museum of American Art, where he curated No Wave Cinema, 78-87 (1996, international tour), Fashion & Film (1997), and the Eiko & Koma living installation Breath (1998). Also at the Whitney, he was the exhibition designer for Joseph Stella (1994), 1995 Whitney Biennial and Edward Steichen (2000), among many others. Matthew has curated and designed exhibitions in Los Angeles, Seoul, Copenhagen, Paris, and London. He won a Bessie award for set and costume design for his work with the theater director Ping Chong.