Alla Ilchun (10 December 1926 – 6 March 1989) was a

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

-born Kazakh-

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

fashion model who lived in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. A muse for

Christian Dior Christian Ernest Dior (; 21 January 1905 – 24 October 1957) was a French fashion designer and founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, Dior, Christian Dior SE. His fashion house is known all around the world, having gained promi ...

, who referred to her as "his personal

talisman A talisman is any object ascribed with religious or magical powers intended to protect, heal, or harm individuals for whom they are made. Talismans are often portable objects carried on someone in a variety of ways, but can also be installed perm ...

", she was the first prominent Asian woman to model European fashions.

Biography

Ilchun was born in

Harbin Harbin, ; zh, , s=哈尔滨, t=哈爾濱, p=Hā'ěrbīn; IPA: . is the capital of Heilongjiang, China. It is the largest city of Heilongjiang, as well as being the city with the second-largest urban area, urban population (after Shenyang, Lia ...

, China in 1926. Her father, Kuantkhan Ilchun, was a railway engineer from a wealthy family in Kazakhstan. Her mother, Tamara, was a Russian opera singer and the daughter of a

White Army The White Army, also known as the White Guard, the White Guardsmen, or simply the Whites, was a common collective name for the armed formations of the White movement and Anti-Sovietism, anti-Bolshevik governments during the Russian Civil War. T ...

officer. Due to political unrest in Harbin, with the city passing between the Chinese, Japanese, the Ilchun family fled to

. Her father was caught and sent to the

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. As a teenager, Ilchun worked as a dishwasher in a Parisian restaurant. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, she joined the

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

. Ilchun attended a model casting in Paris, as a favor to a friend, and was chosen by

to work for the fashion house. She became a very successful model, and a

muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

for Dior, who referred to her as "his personal

". She was the first Asian model in the European fashion world. While working as a model, she met the photographer Mike de Dülmen. The two married and had one children. After Dior's death, Ilchun worked closely with Yves Saint Laurent.

Legacy

In 2020, a documentary film titled ''Alla – Dior’s Oriental Pearl'' was released by Berlin Irishev, president of AKF.

References

Berlin Irishev, Enigme Of Alla - The Muse Of Dior, Paris, 2021 Berlin Irishev, Alla - A Pearl Of The Orient At Dior, Pekin, 2022 Berlin Irishev, Alla - Iconic New Look Of Dior, New York, (expect in December)2023 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ilchun, Alla 1926 births 1989 deaths French Resistance members Kazakhstani emigrants to France Kazakhstani female models Kazakhstani people of Russian descent Muses (persons) People from Harbin Russian women in World War II