Roger Maurice Louis Bohan (22 August 1926 – 6 September 2023) was a French fashion designer, best known for his 30-year career at the house of Dior.[1]
Early life and career
editBohan was born in Paris and grew up in Sceaux. As a child, Marc Bohan was encouraged into fashion by his mother, who worked as a milliner.[2]
After school at the Lycée Lakanal, in 1945 he secured a job at Robert Piguet where he remained for four years.
In 1949 he accepted a job as an assistant to Edward Molyneux. He worked as a designer for Madeleine de Rauch in 1952, before briefly opening his own Paris salon and producing one collection in 1953. In 1954, Bohan was offered a job at Jean Patou, designing the haute couture collection, where he stayed until 1958. In 1991 he was appointed for two years as guest-professor for fashion design at the University of Applied Arts Vienna / Austria.
Designer at Christian Dior
editFrom 1958 to 1960 Bohan designed for the Christian Dior, London line. In September 1960, Dior's creative director Yves Saint Laurent was called up for military service; Bohan was promoted to replace him.[3]
His deceptively simple, elegant designs drew their inspiration from the 1920s, and rejected the extremes of contemporary fashion. One notable collection in 1966 was inspired by the Russian style of Doctor Zhivago.[4]
Bohan's classic pieces are now found in museum collections around the world.[5] In 2009, the Musee Christian Dior at Granville held a major Bohan retrospective.[6]
In 1989 Bohan left Dior, before joining the house of Norman Hartnell in London,[7] where he worked for the label until 1992. Thereafter Bohan designed under his own name.
Notable clients
editBohan designed for Princess Grace of Monaco,[8] Lynn Wyatt, and Betsy Bloomingdale. Princess Grace supported Bohan by opening the Baby Dior boutique in 1967. Actress Sophia Loren was also among his many clients.[9]
Jacqueline Kennedy admired Bohan's designs and had them adapted by Oleg Cassini and Chez Ninon.[10]
In 1976, Bohan was chosen to design the wedding dress of Silvia Sommerlath at her wedding to King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.[11]
Two years later, he designed the wedding gown of Princess Caroline of Monaco for her 1978 wedding to Philippe Junot.[citation needed]
Personal life and death
editBohan's first wife, Dominique Gaborit, whom he married in 1950, died in a car accident in June 1962. He then married Huguette Rinjonneau. They had one daughter: Marie-Anne.
Bohan made a home at a restored 18th-century country house in Châtillon-sur-Seine, Burgundy.[1]
Marc Bohan died at his home on 6 September 2023, at the age of 97.[12]
Awards
edit- Sports Illustrated Designer of the Year award, 1963;
- Schiffli Lace and Embroidery Institute award, 1963;
- Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur, 1979;
- Ordre de Saint Charles, Monaco.
References
edit- ^ a b "Marc Bohan - Fashion Designer Encyclopedia - century, women, suits, dress, style, new, body, collection". www.fashionencyclopedia.com.
- ^ "Marc Bohan biography".
- ^ "On This Day in Fashion". On This Day in Fashion. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
- ^ "Marc Bohan - Fashion Designer | Designers | The FMD". The FMD - FashionModelDirectory.com.
- ^ FIDM Museum "FIDM Museum Blog: Marc Bohan for Christian Dior, c. 1966". Archived from the original on 26 June 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
- ^ Exhibition catalogue http://www.musee-dior-granville.com/documents2/ftp/287/000/001/787/1787794_8048_bohan_dp_gb.pdf[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Designer Finds New Home at Hartnell : Couture: Marc Bohan has settled in London as the couturier for one of the city's most famous houses". Los Angeles Times. 1 February 1991.
- ^ "That Guy is Marc Bohan!". Fashion School Daily. 12 July 2012.
- ^ "Grace de Monaco, Marc Bohan and M. Rouhet (Dior director) for the opening à the Baby Dior boutique in 1967". 10 September 2011 – via Flickr.
- ^ "Red Woolen Suit - John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum". Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
- ^ Kilborn, Peter (20 June 1976). "Swedish Monarch Marries German as 150,000 Turn Out". The New York Times. p. 3. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
...The bride was led up the aisle by the groom. She wore a long white dress designed by Marc Bohan, the head of the House of Dior, and pulled behind her, without assistance, a 12‐foot‐long train....
- ^ "Marc Bohan, ancien directeur artistique de Dior, est mort". Le Monde. 8 September 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
External links
edit- Marc Bohan at IMDb
- Marc Bohan at FMD
