Maggie Griffiths - the Model who Snubbed Dior

In 1962 Denbighshire model, Maggie Griffiths, caused a big stir when, after only a few weeks of work, she broke her contract with French fashion giants House of Dior. She’d had no trouble at all in passing the initial audition in Paris. Despite arriving 90 minutes late for her interview she was selected by designer Marc Bohan from 60 glamorous applicants. Becoming a Dior girl was meant to be every model’s dream job but Maggie Griffiths turned her perfectly-formed nose up at it. Poor pay (£15 per week) and the attitude of the other models were the main problems. Said the 23-year-old Welsh mannequin arriving back at Heathrow airport: “The girls were bitchy – some of them did not speak to me for the first two weeks. In London I can get £25 per day. It is great prestige to work for Dior. But I am fed up with prestige. You can't bank it.” Such was the kerfuffle at the time that this seemingly innocuous fashion story was reported everywhere from the UK tabloids to Time magazine.