Paul Poiret

Name: Paul Poiret

D.O.B.: 20^th April 1879

D.O.D.: 30^th April 1944

Place of birth: France, Paris

Place of Death: France, Paris

Nationality: French

Gender: Male

Occupation: Fashion designer

Personal life

Paul Poiret was born into a poor family in the poor neighbourhood of Les Halles, Paris. His parents apprenticed him to an umbrella maker where Poiret collected scraps of silk left over from umbrella cutting patterns, with that he made clothes for a doll which one of his sisters had given him. When Poiret was a teenager he took his sketches to a prominent dress maker Madeleine Cheruit who purchased a dozen from him. Poiret continued to sell his drawings which ended up in major Parisian couture houses, and then was hired by Jacques Doucet in 1896. Later after that Poiret had moved to the House of Worth where he was responsible for designing simple and practical dresses.

Poiret got married to Denise Boulet in 1905, together they had five children. In 1913 Poiret told Vogue ‘my wife is the inspiration for all my creations, she is the expression of all my ideas’. The two were later divorced.

Career and work life

Poiret was known for freeing women from corsets and for inventing hobble skirts, harem pants and lampshade tunics. He was mainly known for the draping in dress making, that was a major change from the usual tailoring and pattern making of the past. Poiret had been influenced by antiques and regional dresses, he had majorly changed the history of costumes

A ballet soiree was held at his palatial home, costume ball attended by the cream of Parisian society and the artistic world. The Thousand and Second Night which was inspired by the fantasy of the sultans and harems ‘based on the Arabian Nights’. The gardens were illuminated by lanterns set with tents and live tropical birds, Madame Poiret lounged in a luxurious golden cage on the night. Poiret gifted his guests with a bottle of his new fragrance to fit the occasion ‘Nuit Persane’. A second perfume had later been released in 1912 ‘Le Minaret’, again based and emphasising the harem theme.

During World War 1 Poiret left the house to serve in the military by stream lining uniform production. He was discharged in 1919 he returned to Paris and the House was on the Brink of bankruptcy. New designers like Chanel were producing simple sleek clothes that relied on workmanship for excellent making. To compare Poiret’s elaborate designs seemed poorly manufactured although his designs were groundbreaking, his construction was not. His aim only for dresses to read beautifully from a distance.

All of a sudden Poiret was out of fashion in debt and was not getting any support from business partners, he soon left the fashion house. Come 1929 the house had been closed and the left over clothes were sold by the kilograms as rags.

After all the fame he had gone down the road of poverty which lead him to do odd jobs such as painting in the streets trying to sell his drawings to customers at Paris Cafe’s. He had only received help from his friend Elsa Schiaparelli who had prevented his name from being completely oblivious, even when Poiret died in 1944 it was Elsa that had paid for his burial.

Facts about Paul Poiret

·         His first design was a red cloth cape which he sold 400 copies of

·         He established his own fashion house in 1903

·         In the year 1909 H.H Asquith invited him to show his designs at 10 Downing street

·         Cheapest garment at the exhibition was 30 guineas, double the annual salary of a scullery maid

·         He expanded the house to furniture, decor, fragrance as well as clothing

·         1911 he introduced a new perfume called ‘ Parfums de Rosine’ named after his daughter which made him the first couturier to launch a signature fragrance linked to a design house. The perfume was launched on June 24^th 1911 in a flamboyant manner.