Top image: Dovima with Elephants (1955) Photography by Richard Avedon

To mark the 70th anniversary of Christian Dior, luxury book publishers Assouline are producing a series of seven reference books, each devoted to one of the seven couturiers who have shaped the history of the house: Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Bohan, Gianfranco Ferré, John Galliano, Raf Simons and Maria Grazia Chiuri.

The first volume begins in 1947 and encompasses the complete chronology of Christian Dior’s haute couture creations; from the seminal premiere collection famously dubbed the ‘New Look,’ to the final elegantly streamlined Fuseau line presented for Fall/Winter 1957. From there, the book goes through each couturier’s individual take on the house’s aesthetic, finally landing at Dior’s current designer Maria Grazia Chiuri. Spanning across over 500 pages, the book features an assemble of dresses from Dior’s archives, private collection and museums around the world. The garments were all shot by world renowned photographer Laziz Hamani and are accompanied with text by fashion curator Olivier Saillard, director of the Palais Galliera museum in Paris.

Priced at £130, volume one is now available worldwide on Assouline’s website and is published in French, English, Chinese. According to Dior, the set is due for completion in 2018.