1955 Marc Bohan for Jean Patou women's suit

Christian Dior Haute Coutre Suit by Marc Bohan, Spring-Summer 1973

Marc Roger Maurice Louis Bohan (born 22 August 1926) is a French fashion designer, best known for his 30-year career at the house of

Dior Christian Dior SE (), commonly known as Dior (stylized DIOR), is a French luxury fashion house controlled and chaired by French businessman Bernard Arnault, who also heads LVMH, the world's largest luxury group. Dior itself holds 42.36% shar ...

Early life and career

Bohan was born in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

and grew up in Sceaux. As a child, Marc Bohan was encouraged into fashion by his mother, who worked as a milliner. After school at the Lycée Lakanal, in 1945 he secured a job at

Robert Piguet Robert Piguet (1898 – 1953) was a Swiss-born, Paris-based fashion designer who is mainly remembered for training Christian Dior and Hubert de Givenchy. The Piguet fashion house ran from 1933 to 1951; since then, the brand Robert Piguet has bee ...

where he remained for four years. In 1949 he accepted a job as an assistant to

Edward Molyneux Edward Henry Molyneux () (5 September 1891 – 23 March 1974) was a leading British fashion designer whose salon in Paris was in operation from 1919 until 1950. He was characterised as a modernist designer who played with the refinements of co ...

. He worked as a designer for

Madeleine de Rauch Madeleine may refer to: Common meanings *Madeleine (name), also Madeline, a feminine given name * Madeleine (cake), a traditional sweet cake from France *Mary Magdalene, also called the Madeleine Arts and entertainment * ''Madelein'' (1919 f ...

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 Jean Patou (; 27 September 1887 – 8 March 1936) was a French fashion designer, and founder of the Jean Patou brand. Early life Patou was born in Paris, France in 1887. Patou's family's business was tanning and furs. Patou worked with his ...

, 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 The University of Applied Arts Vienna (german: Universität für angewandte Kunst Wien, or informally just ''Die Angewandte'') is an arts university and institution of higher education in Vienna, the capital of Austria. It has had university sta ...

/ Austria.

Designer at Christian Dior

From 1958 to 1960 Bohan designed for the

Christian Dior Christian Ernest Dior (; 21 January 1905 – 24 October 1957) was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, Christian Dior SE, which is now owned by parent company LVMH. His fashion houses a ...

, London line. In September 1960, Dior's creative director Yves Saint Laurent was called up for military service; Bohan was promoted to replace him. 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

Dr Zhivago ''Doctor Zhivago'' is the title of a novel by Boris Pasternak and its various adaptations. Description The story, in all of its forms, describes the life of the fictional Russian physician and poet Yuri Zhivago and deals with love and loss during ...

. Bohan's classic pieces are now found in museum collections around the world. In 2009, the Musee Christian Dior at Granville held a major Bohan retrospective. In 1989 Bohan left Dior, before joining for the house of

Norman Hartnell Sir Norman Bishop Hartnell, KCVO (12 June 1901 – 8 June 1979) was a leading British fashion designer, best known for his work for the ladies of the royal family. Hartnell gained the Royal Warrant as Dressmaker to Queen Elizabeth in 1940, and ...

in London, where he worked for the label until 1992. Bohan has since designed under his own name.

Notable clients

Bohan designed for Princess Grace of Monaco, Lynn Wyatt, and

Betsy Bloomingdale Betty Lee "Betsy" Bloomingdale (née Newling; August 2, 1922 – July 19, 2016), was an American socialite and philanthropist. She was considered a fashion icon, first appearing on the International Best Dressed List in 1962, and in 1970 was na ...

. Princess Grace supported Bohan by opening the Baby Dior boutique in 1967. Actress

Sophia Loren Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone (; born 20 September 1934), known professionally as Sophia Loren ( , ), is an Italian actress. She was named by the American Film Institute as one of the greatest female stars of Classical Hollywood ci ...

was among his many clients.

Jacqueline Kennedy Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American socialite, writer, photographer, and book editor who served as first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A po ...

admired Bohan's designs and had them adapted by

Oleg Cassini Oleg Cassini (11 April 1913 – 17 March 2006) was a fashion designer born to an aristocratic Russian family with maternal Italian ancestry. He came to the United States as a young man after starting as a designer in Rome, and quickly got ...

and Chez Ninon. In 1976, Bohan was chosen to design the wedding dress of Silvia Sommerlath at her

wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage ...

to King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. Two years later, he designed the wedding gown of

Princess Caroline of Monaco Princess Caroline of Monaco (Caroline Louise Marguerite; born 23 January 1957) is, by her marriage to Prince Ernst August of Hanover (born 1954), Prince Ernst August, the List of Hanoverian royal consorts, Princess of Hanover. As the eldest chi ...

for her 1978 wedding to Philippe Junot.

Personal life

Bohan's first wife, Dominique Gaborit, whom he married in 1950, died in 1962. He then married Huguette Rinjonneau. They had one daughter: Marie-Anne. Bohan has a home at a restored 18th-century country house in

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The ...

Awards

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twice ...

Designer of the Year award, 1963; * Schiffli Lace and Embroidery Institute award, 1963; * Chevalier de la

Legion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

, 1979; * Ordre de Saint Charles, Monaco.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bohan, Marc French fashion designers Living people 1926 births Dior people