Christian Dior opened his house in late 1946 and changed postwar fashion with the New Look collection of 1947. He died in 1957, and the house has since passed through a run of creative directors whose work looks distinct enough to date a garment by eye.
Yves Saint Laurent held the role briefly, until 1960. Marc Bohan followed and stayed until 1989, and his long, wearable tenure accounts for much of the vintage Dior that still circulates. Gianfranco Ferré, an architect by training, ran the house from 1989 to 1996 and brought a sculptural, theatrical rigour, most famously in his white shirts.
John Galliano, from 1996 to 2011, is the era most collectors chase: bias cuts, historical references and heavy ornament. Raf Simons, from 2012 to 2015, went the other way, toward clean architectural lines and a reworked Bar jacket. Maria Grazia Chiuri, from 2016 to 2025, is easiest to spot through her slogan tees, tulle skirts and tarot motifs. Jonathan Anderson now leads the house.
Japanese resellers are a major channel for second-hand Dior, and their size labels are where buyers go wrong. Japanese sizing generally runs smaller than European, so a Japanese M often fits closer to an EU S. Older Dior adds its own inconsistencies, which is why the measurements matter more than the letter on the label.
The pricing gap sits with Simons. Galliano pieces are loud, so sellers recognise them and price them accordingly. Simons-era tailoring carries few obvious signals, the tenure was short, and listings tend to describe it simply as a Dior jacket. A buyer who can recognise the cut can find it priced like generic Dior rather than like the work of a designer whose short run is now well studied.
Before paying an era premium, check the piece against collection imagery from that season rather than relying on label folklore. Archive runway photos are the most reliable way to confirm a date.
