René Gruau

René Gruau (Rimini, 1909 - Rome, 2004) was one of the twentieth century's foremost fashion illustrators. Self-taught, he settled in Paris in 1928 and worked for Vogue, Marie-Claire, and L'Officiel before becoming Christian Dior's defining visual voice, signing four decades of iconic campaigns for the house. From 1956, he turned to the great Parisian cabarets: the Lido, the Casino de Paris, and the Moulin Rouge from 1961. His style, built on bold black line, vivid red and white ground, remains one of the century's most instantly recognizable graphic signatures.