Paul Poiret

Paul Poiret, the explorer of the romantic and theatrical possibilities of clothing, is one of the most renowned women's wear designers of the twentieth century. He was particularly popular in the 1910s, and was known for his ability to 'divine and define the desires of women', and he became known as the 'King of Fashion' in America.

Poiret was born on the 20th of April 1879, to a cloth merchant in a poor neighbourhood of Les Halles, Paris. As he grew up he developed an overwhelming sense of natural pride, which was not taken kindly by his parents. To rid him of this fault, they apprenticed him to an umbrella maker, where he would collect scraps of leftover silk from the umbrellas and fashion clothing for a small doll he owned. This early hobby was where Poiret's passion began, a passion that would one day mean his name was known all over the world.

After he had developed his talent, as a teenager he took his sketches to a talented dressmaker, Madeleine Cheruit, who loved them so much she purchased a dozen from him, which sparked a steady flow of purchases from many important fashion figures. Poiret continued to sell his illustrations and eventually was selling to the likes of major Parisian couture houses, which led him to be hired by Jacques Doucet, a popular fashion designer in 1898, where he produced his first famous creation, a red wool cloak with gray crêpe de chine lining and revers, which sold 400 copies. But it was a piece he created for the actress Réjane in a play called Zaza that would secure his fame. Using the stage as a runway grew to be a typical strategy of Poiret's marketing techniques, meaning he could present his most avant-garde creations. The piece created for Réjane was of black tulle over a black taffeta that had been painted by Billotey, a famous fan painter of the time, with large white and mauve irises. In Poiret's words, "All the sadness of a romantic dénouement, all the bitterness of a fourth act, were in this so-expressive cloak, and when they saw it appear, the audience foresaw the end of the play".

He was soon to leave Doucet, however, in 1901 and move to the House Of Worth, (son of Charles Frederick Worth) another renowned Parisian fashion house, where he was asked to produe what Worth called 'fried potatoes'; simple, practical garments that were 'side dishes' to Worth's creations, or 'truffles', evening and reception gowns. Conversely, Poiret's designs were not favoured by the public, as the 'brazen modernity of his designs' proved too diverese for Worth's clientele. For example, Poiret chose to present the Russian Princess Bariatinsky with a innovatively designed Confucius coat, which had a distinctive kimono-like cut, which was not popular at the time it was designed. It was not appreciated by the princess, however, and she is said to have exclaimed 'What a horror! 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'. Poiret's exotic tendencies were expressed through his use of vivid color combinations and enigmatic silhouettes such as his iconic "lampshade" tunic and his "harem" trousers, or pantaloons. However, these oriental fantasies detracted from Poiret's more enduring innovations, namely his technical and marketing achievements. Poiret effectively established the canon of modern dress and developed the basis of the modern fashion industry. Poiret not only changed the course of costume history but also steered it in the direction of modern design history.

The unpopular nature of his designs through the Worth house, and the ill-disposed reaction of the Russian Princess led Poiret to open his own house in 190 at 5 rue Auber, where the controversial kimono coat became a trademark piece.  Later, in 1906, he moved his atelier to 37 rue Pasquier, and then, in 1909, to 9 avenue d'Antin. Two years later, he created and established a perfume and cosmetics company named after the eldest of his two daughters, Rosine, and a decorative arts company named after his second daughter, Martine, both located at 107 Faubourg Saint-Honoré. Poiret became the first couturier to merge fashion with interior design and endorse the concept of a "total lifestyle."

Despite Poiret's classical fashion education at two of the oldest and most revered couture houses, the creations of his first decade as an independent couturier broke established settlements of dressmaking, and undermining and eventually destroying their core presuppositions. He liberated women of their petticoats in 1903, and eventually rid them of their corsets in 1906. He was not alone in this vision of dress reform. Lucile (also known as Lady Duff Gordon) and Madeleine Vionnet also developed an uncorseted silhouette, but it was Poiret, largely down to his insight for publicity, who became most widely associated with the new look.

Poiret formed a revolution in dressmaking. He used the draping technique, so pattern cutting and technical skills were not required.  It was a fundamental departure from the couture traditions of the nineteenth century, which relied on intenseley precise pattern pieces for their effectiveness. Looking to both antique and regional dress forms, most notably to the Greek chiton, the Japanese kimono, and the North African and Middle Eastern caftan, Poiret promoted garments cut along straight lines and constructed of simple rectangles. These garments hung of women's shoulders and therefore made a multitude of techniques possible. Poiret exploited its fullest potential by launching, in quick succession, a series of designs that were startling in their simplicity and originality. From 1906 to 1911, he presented garments that promoted a high-waisted silhouette.

During World War I, Poiret left his fashion house to serve the military by restructuring uniform manufacture. When Poiret returned after being discharged in 1919, the house was on the brink of bankruptcy. New designers like Chanel were producing modest, feminine clothes that relied on perfectly precise workmanship. In comparison, Poiret's sumptuous designs seemed drab and poorly produced. (Though Poiret's designs were groundbreaking, his construction was not—he aimed only for his dresses to "read beautifully from afar.") Poiret was suddenly shoved brutally out of fashoin, in debt, and without support, so he soon left his fashion house. In 1929, the house was closed, and its leftover clothes were sold by the kilogram as rags. When Poiret died in 1944, his genius had been forgotten. His extreme poverty led him in odd jobs as a street painter, a very different life to the one he had been used to. Poiret would try to sell drawings to the customers of Parisian cafes. At one time it was even discussed in the 'Chambre syndicale de la Haute Couture' to provide a monthly allowance to assist him, but when the idea reached the Worth's (at that time at holding the presidency of that body), they strongly rejected it, an action that now seems spiteful and selfish. Only the help of his friend Elsa Schiaparelli prevented his name from being forgotten completely, and it was Schiaparelli that paid for Poiret's burial in 1944.