Marie-France Pochna

In 1947, when Christian Dior's model spun her wasp-waisted skirt and tipped a hat over one eye, the iconic designer became an instant celebrity. His groundbreaking new look was quintessentially Parisian—the perfect combination of fanciful and elegant that glorified the female form and seduced his international clientele. Yet it was by mere chance that Dior—hapless in the face of personal...