PAUL POIRET

THE KING OF FASHION

“In Paris, he was simply Le Magnifique, a

suitable soubriquet for a couturier who employed

the language of orientalism to develop

the romantic and theatrical possibilities of

clothing.”

ADELEINEELEMENTARY FRENCH I

EARLY LIFE

Born April 20, 1879 in Les Halles, Paris,

France.

As a prideful child, his parents sent him to apprentice with an

umbrella maker. By fashioning scraps of

cloth on dolls, his start in fashion had begun.

Poiret never received an education, nor did he

learn how to sew.

BEGINNINGS In 1898, the couturière Madeleine Chéruit bought

twelve of Poiret’s fashion drawings. In the same year, he began working for the

prominent couturier, Jacques Doucet. While working for Doucet, Poiret would design an

outfit for the actress Gabrielle Réjane in the played called Zaza. Thus, the stage would

become his “runway,” and theatrics would be a typical strategy of Poiret’s marketing practices. In 1901, Poiret joined the House of Worth,

working under Gaston Worth. Here he was asked to create “fried potatoes” – simple, practical

garments – that were “side dishes” to Worth’s “truffles” – opulent evening gowns for aristocratic

clients.

JACQUES DOUCET GABRIELLE RÉJANECHARLES FREDERICK

WORTH

“WHAT HORROR; WITH US, WHEN THERE ARE LOW FELLOWS WHO RUN AFTER OUR SLEDGES AND

ANNOY US, WE HAVE THEIR HEADS CUT OFF, AND WE PUT THEM IN

SACKS JUST LIKE THAT.”PRINCESS BARIATINSKY, ONE OF WORTH’S

ROYAL CLIENTS, UPON SEEING ONE OF POIRET’S “FRIED POTATO” DESIGNS INSPIRED BY THE JAPANESE KIMONO

NEWFOUND FAMEAfter Princess

Bariatinsky’s reaction to his designs, Poiret was

inspired to found his own maison de couture

in 1903.In 1905, Poiret

established a perfume and cosmetics company named after his eldest

daughter, Rosine.He also established a

decorative arts company named after his second daughter,

Martine.

DENISE POIRET“MY WIFE IS THE

INSPIRATION FOR ALL MY CREATIONS; SHE IS THE EXPRESSION OF ALL MY

IDEALS.”In 1905, Poiret married

Denise Boulet. They would have five children

together.Denise, who was

slender and youthful, would serve as both a

mannequin and a muse to Poiret. She would be the prototype of la garçonne,

or better known as the flapper of the 1920’s.Eventually, the two would be divorced.

DESIGN AESTHETIC

“POIRET ONCE RUEFULLY ADMITTED THAT HE COULD NOT SEW AND WAS THUS UNABLE TO FULLY CONTROL ALL ASPECTS OF HIS ART. HOWEVER, IT WAS THIS VERY ABSENCE OF TRAINING IN TAILORING AND DRESSMAKING

THAT FACILITATED THE COUTURIER'S AUDACIOUS TECHNICAL ADVANCES.”

Once Poiret learned his craft from Doucet and Worth, he would break the established conventions

of dressmaking.Poiret liberated the body from the restricting petticoat in 1903,

and then from the corset in 1906.Poiret focused less on the skills

of tailoring and more on the innovative technique of draping.

DESIGN AESTHETIC

As inspiration, Poiret looked to both antique and regional dress types, such as Grecian chitons, Japanese kimonos, and North African and Middle Eastern

caftans.Poiret advocated fashions cut along

straight lines and constructed of rectangles, in comparison to the

precision of pattern-making in the fashion industry before him.

Poiret’s use of draping was the introduction to modern fashion design.

His presentation of his designs through art appeared in Paul Iribe’s Les robes de Paul Poiret in 1908 and George Lepape’s Les choses de Paul

Poiret in 1911, reflecting his connection to both art and fashion as

well as his expertise in fashion marketing.

“AM I A FOOL WHEN I DREAM OF PUTTING

ART INTO MY DRESSES, A FOOL

WHEN I SAY DRESSMAKING IS AN

ART? FOR I HAVE ALWAYS LOVED

PAINTERS, AND FELT ON AN EQUAL FOOTING WITH

THEM. IT SEEMS TO ME THAT WE

PRACTICE THE SAME CRAFT…”

ORIENTALISM

Inspired by the Ballets Russes successful

production of Schéhérazade in 1910, Poiret would be spurred

to create orientalist designs.

These designs included “harem” pantaloons,

“lampshade” tunics, and hobble skirts.

Poiret would be known to throw lavish parties to

market his clothing. In 1911, he would throw a lavish dress party called, “The

Thousand and Second Night.”

FALL FROM GRACE

During World War I, Poiret would serve as a military tailor. Although orientalism continued to influence Poiret’s creativity and innovativeness, modern, functional clothing

would replace his luxurious and sensual designs. Because Poiret could not reconcile his ornamental design

aesthetic with modernism, his popularity diminished in the 1920’s.

In 1929, Poiret closed his business. Poiret would be known to encourage Elsa Schiaparelli to

open her own design business in the 1920’s, who shared a similar design aesthetic as him.

He died April 30, 1944 in Paris.

IMPACT ON

FASHION“IT IS IRONIC THAT POIRET

REJECTED MODERNISM, GIVEN THAT HIS TECHNICAL AND

COMMERCIAL INNOVATIONS WERE

FUNDAMENTAL TO ITS EMERGENCE AND

DEVELOPMENT. BUT ALTHOUGH POIRET'S ORIENTALISM WAS AT

ODDS WITH MODERNISM, BOTH IDEOLOGICALLY AND AESTHETICALLY, IT SERVED

AS THE PRINCIPAL EXPRESSION OF HIS

MODERNITY, ENABLING HIM TO RADICALLY TRANSFORM THE COUTURE TRADITIONS

OF THE BELLE ÉPOQUE. WHILE POIRET MAY HAVE

BEEN FASHION'S LAST GREAT ORIENTALIST, HE

WAS ALSO ITS FIRST GREAT MODERNIST.”

BIBLIOGRAPHY

“Fashioning the Century.” Vogue, May 2007.Koda, Harold, and Andrew Bolton. Poiret. New

Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 2007. Print.

Steele, Valerie. Paris Fashion: A Cultural History. Oxford: Berg, 1998. Print.

http://www.harpersbazaar.com/magazine/140-years/bazaar-140-0407

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/poir/hd_poir.htmhttp://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/11/arts/

design/11poir.html?pagewanted=all