Paul Poiret

The early 20th century in France was a cultural moment which artists and aesthetic sensibilities influenced each other, especially in costume. The French couturier, Paul Poiret (1879-1944), born in Paris to a cloth merchant had the good fortune of being immersed in the traditions of the French couture. As a young boy, Poiret was fascinated with color, design, and fabric. He experimented with scraps of fabric on a wooden mannequin during the first job for an umbrella maker. His first break came when the French designer, Madeleine ChÐ"©ruit, accepted some of his sketches. Following apprenticeships with Parisian designers, Jacques Doucet and later with Charles Frederick Worth, Poiret established his own Parisian couture house in 1903. Other businesses and artistic interests included designing theatre and film costumes, and establishing a design school, Martine, for the decorative arts. The Martine design school encouraged students to create designs for furnishing fabrics and wallpaper as well as designs for the printed silks and taffetas of Poiret dresses.

His signature was the rose, designed by the French artist Paul Iribe, and appeared on a number of his garments on labels and elsewhere. However, Poiret's most notable designs included "oriental" motifs. Vividly, colored exotic textiles for costumes by Leon Bakst for the Ballet Russes (which just appeared in Paris in 1909) influenced many of Poiret dress designs.

Turbans, harem pants, the pantaloon gown, and kimonos shape, in rich, exotic prints were among his most popular designs. Another design, the hobble skirt, featured freedom at the waist, but confined the ankles. The lampshade, yet another design, was made by wiring a tunic which stood out all around the body and became one of his most famous shapes. Poiret engaged the textile artist, Raoul Dufy to design fabrics for dresses and shawls. Other exotic designs featured Arabian fantasies, creating a sensation in his collections and later in costume parties.

The costume parties that Poiret and his wife Denise, a former model for Poiret, hosted were lavish events and guests wore costly gowns. "Oriental" costumes were a requirement and for those not in costume; entry was refused unless they were willing to wear Poiret -inspired clothes. Three hundred artists, art patrons, and clients attended one such party, "The Thousand and Second Night" based on the Arabian nights, held June 24, 1911.

His interest in costume and lavish parties carried over to the theatre and film. Many of his theatrical designs severed as a springboard for his couture designs. From 1912 to 1929 Poiret designed costumes for 12 films. His theatre business consisted of making new gowns as well as lending gowns.

In the garden of his couture house Poiret had a small theatre called L'oasis. From an early age Poiret was intrigued with acting and he did attempt a few films and theatrical roles. This was another feature of Poiret's commitment to the integration of art and fashion. Other early 20th century French couturiers also introduced theatrical stages, as well as, into couture houses.

Poiret engaged architect, Louis SÐ"јe, to design a stage for the presentation of fashion shows in his couture house. SÐ"јe was influenced by the work of Viennese architect Joseph Hoffmann, and especially by Hoffmann's design for the theatre in the Palais Stocklet in Brussels. At one end of a rectangular theatre or music room there was an elevated stage which SÐ"јe used for Poiret's theatre. Stripped chairs for clients coordinated with the furnishings in Poiret's couture house. Although, no photographs exist, a drawing by Pierre Brissaud, published in Femina in February 1911 showed an elegant neo-classical style interior identified as Poiret's ground floor salon. The rectangular shape and location of windows correspond to SÐ"јe's two drawings.

The strong links of Poiret's commercial interests and his engagement with the theatre contributed to his widespread renown, combining the overlapping territories

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