Roger Vivier
Christian Dior met Roger Vivier in 1953. In him, he found a designer who shared his passion for couture and fashion architecture.
However, the only way of collaborating with the shoe designer was to negotiate an agreement with the American Herman Delman, who had exclusive rights to his designs.
This agreement meant Dior shoes could be sold in the United States, while securing the services of Roger Vivier for bespoke creations in France.
Christian Dior appended the name of Delman on his creations, but Roger Vivier’s talent attracted the attention of the press, so much so that from 1955 onwards his name was mentioned on the press releases dedicated to shoes.
Roger Vivier had to wait until 1958 to be released from his contract with the American shoemaker. He was then able to design the shoes for the Dior collections in his own name, from 1958 to 1963.
The decade of collaboration between Roger Vivier and the House of Dior led to the creation of many original designs with innovative shapes, and an expertise which rivaled that of Haute Couture creations.
© Dior Focus/Bryan Zammarchi ; © Association Willy Maywald/ADAGP, Paris 2022 ; © Bettmann/Getty Images ; © Laziz Hamani ; © Philippe Dreux. Courtesy of Cécile Dreux
