Dior names Olivier Bialobos deputy managing director

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Mar 20, 2023

The house of Christian Dior promotes Olivier Bialobos to deputy managing director in charge of global communication and image, in a significant change of management at the luxury French fashion house.

Bialobos will report to Delphine Arnault, who took over as chairman and CEO of Christian Dior Couture in February. His appointment is effective March 1, 2023.

"I am delighted to be able to rely on Olivier's great talent, expertise and commitment to accompany the house of Dior and its development in the coming years," said Delphine Arnault in an internal announcement, made available to FashionNetwork.com.

"For many years, Olivier has made an essential contribution to the image of Dior,
notably through exceptional fashion shows, exhibitions and global events. Today he is one of the strong pillars of the House," added Charles Delapalme, managing director of Christian Dior Couture.
 
A 17-year veteran of Dior, Bialobos has been a highly active executive at the storied Paris maison. He was responsible for launching Dior Magazine, a finely printed and much-admired title that celebrated the house’s recent and historic achievements in each issue. Bialobos is listed as the publication director on the masthead of Dior Magazine, of which Fabien Baron is the art director. The title celebrated its 41st edition with a major photo shoot and a feature on Elizabeth Debicki, the house’s new jewelry ambassador.
 
Since joining Dior, Bialobos' key role has been spearheading the brand’s global communications direction, a task which has required considerable footwork, as the brand has witnessed significant changes in artistic direction.
 
When Bialobos first arrived, creative direction for women and men was under the control of John Galliano and Hedi Slimane respectively. Since then, in the women’s division alone, Galliano has been succeeded by both permanent and passing designers including  Bill Gaytten, Raf Simons, Serge Ruffieux and Lucie Meier, and Maria Grazia Chiuri, the current incumbent.
 
Bialobos has also won plaudits for guiding the development of Dior Héritage, a large and deep archive, which has allowed the house to develop highly sophisticated retrospectives, and also becoming the basis of Galerie Dior. This impressive museum located at Dior’s historic flagship at 30 Avenue Montaigne is understood to have attracted some 400,000 visitors in its first year of operation.
 
Dior Héritage has also been the well-spring behind the Christian Dior – Designer of Dreams exhibition which has been staged in Paris, New York, London, Dallas, Shanghai and Chengdu, and is now on display in the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo.
 
Self-confidently bi-lingual in French and English and elegantly attired, Bialobos is a noted figure in the Paris fashion scene. He began his career at Escada, before joining the Paris office of KCD, the well-known New York-founded international fashion publicist and production house. Though he really began to gain global prominence when he became international press and PR director of Yves Saint Laurent during the Tom Ford era.