A Season at Dior

Paris, 1956. The city is the undisputed capital of elegance and the avant-garde. At 30 Avenue Montaigne, a twenty-one-year-old from Bremen, Germany stepped for the first time through the doors of the house of Christian Dior. His name was Jürgen Michaelsen. Within minutes of their meeting, Christian Dior—captivated by his passion and sensitivity— hired him on the spot. Dior would give him a new name, Yorn, and invite him into the rarefied world of Parisian haute couture. This book offers the rare testimony of one of Christian Dior's last assistants. From within, it tells of the magic of the ateliers, the restless energy of the studios, and the intimacy of the world behind-the-scenes, where models, premières d'atelier, and celebrated clients brought the master's creations to life. Yorn brings back the feverish preparations for the collections, the anxious anticipation of the shows, the charged atmosphere of the Haute Couture salons, but also the quiet gestures of daily life, the camaraderie among colleagues, and the delightful anecdotes that light up the memory of a vanished era. Through these recollections, Yorn paints a portrait of Dior as both shy and visionary, generous and demanding—a man whose genius never overshadowed his humanity. He also evokes the dazzling personality of a young Yves Saint Laurent, the daring wagers they shared, and the creative energy that animated the corridors of 30 Montaigne. Yet these pages transcend fashion alone: they are an ode to Paris, to youth, and to the joy of daring. After his years with Dior and Madame Grès, Yorn would follow his own path: in 1962, he became the first German designer to open a couture house on the Champs-Élysées, bringing a fresh spirit and a bridge between German rigor and Parisian lightness. Through these recollections, Yorn paints a portrait of Dior as both shy and visionary, generous and demanding—a man whose genius never overshadowed his humanity. He also evokes the dazzling personality of a young Yves Saint Laurent, the daring wagers they shared, and the creative energy that animated the corridors of 30 Montaigne. Yet these pages transcend fashion alone: they are an ode to Paris, to youth, and to the joy of daring. After his years with Dior and Madame Grès, Yorn would follow his own path: in 1962, he became the first German designer to open a couture house on the Champs-Élysées, bringing a fresh spirit and a bridge between German rigor and Parisian lightness. Vivid, intimate, and luminous, this narrative is both an immersion into the secrets of haute couture and a lesson in life: happiness, when shared, becomes infinite.