Paul Poiret: La Mode Est Une Fête (Fashion is a Feast)

Georges Lepape (1887-1971) - Paul Poiret, Tour of Europe poster (detail), 1920

"I am an artist, not a couturier." - Paul Poiret.

I have been a huge admirer of the work of French fashion designer and master couturier Paul Poiret (1879-1944), for the longest time, but frustratingly was only able to experience his work online as either fashion illustrations or through photographs. I was finally able to examine one of Poiret's dresses in the actual at the V&A museum's exhibition of Kimono in 2020 (here). This retrospective exhibition seen on a visit to Paris at the Musée Des Arts Décoratifs finally fulfilled my desire to experience not only the full range of Poiret's dress designs, but also his collaborations with the theatre, his range of perfumes, and also his ventures into interior design. Poiret was known in Paris as "Le Magnifique", and proclaimed himself the King of Fashion. Despite the hubris Poiret was a revolutionary innovator, developing the blueprint for the modern fashion industry, turning fashion into an art form. Poiret liberated women from the confines of the corset with simplified silhouettes, invented the concept of the catwalk, and was the first French couturier to launch a perfume, and even published a cookbook. He was also skilled at the art of marketing, demonstrating that fashion could be promoted as a lifestyle that branched out into complementary home furnishings and a range of accessories. By surrounding himself with artists, designers and architects who could help develop and promote his work, he invented a unique visual style. Poiret started out in fashion under the couturier Jacques Doucet. His first design, of a red cloth cape, sold 400 copies. He became famous after designing a black mantle of tulle over a black taffeta, painted by the famous fan painter Billotey. The actress Réjane used it in a play called Zaza. Designing for the stage for the publicity it generated would become a valuable marketing strategy of Poirets. By the time he left Doucet Poiret had risen through the ranks to become head of the tailoring department. Designing for the House of Worth from 1901, was next for Poiret though the "brazen modernity of his designs," proved too much for Worth's very conservative clientele and Poiret left to set up his own maison de couture in 1903. With his wife and muse Denise by his side Poiret then set about revolutionising the world of fashion In his first years as an independent couturier, he broke with established conventions of dressmaking and subverted others, rejecting the corset in 1906 for a simpler silhouette. Poiret shifted the emphasis away from the skills of tailoring to those based on the skills of draping. It was a radical departure from the couture traditions of the nineteenth century, which relied on pattern pieces, or more specifically the precision of pattern making, for their efficacy. Poiret’s process of design through draping became the source of fashion’s modern forms. It introduced clothing that hung from the shoulders introducing a range of design possibilities. Poiret then launched, in quick succession, a series of these designs that were startling in their simplicity and originality, presenting garments that promoted a high-waisted Directoire Revival silhouette. He then took inspiration from the exotic visions conjured by the costumes of the Ballets Russes, and the book the Arabian Nights using bold, bright colours creating fantastical garments such as harem pantaloons and lampshade tunics. Poiret made his name with his controversial kimono coat and similar, loose-fitting designs created specifically for an un-corseted, slim figure. In 1909, he was so famous, Margot Asquith, wife of British prime minister H. H. Asquith, invited him to show his designs at 10 Downing Street. Poiret considered himself on a par with artists – “It seems to me we practice the same craft,” he stated in his autobiography – and soon began receiving them at his home in order to “create around me a movement.” His circle included Constantin Brancusi, Kees van Dongen, Robert Delauney, André Derain, Raoul Dufy, Paul Iribe, Henri Matisse, Amedeo Modigliani Maurice de Vlaminck and Pablo Picasso, as well as influential art-world types such as Peggy Guggenheim which all added to Poiret's hype and publicity. He would design innovative window displays and throw extravagant oriental- themed parties at his atelier and home attended by his artist friends and the cream of Paris society which soon brought him notoriety. Another source of innovation was Poiret giving his artist associates free reign to illustrate his designs with patterns for textile designs starting with Paul Iribe, and then the next year a fruitful collaboration with Raoul Dufy which perfectly suited his fashion lines. As well as hiring artists to work for him, Poiret was also a keen patron and promoter, primarily through the Galerie Barbazanges, a commercial gallery within his couture house at 109 Rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré. It was here that Picasso first showed his groundbreaking masterpiece Les Demoiselles D’Avignon in 1911, which clearly had a major impact on Poiret as he began to create cubistic textile designs with broken silhouettes. Poiret also arranged concerts of music at the gallery, often in combination with exhibitions of art. The Salon d'Antin included readings of poetry by Max Jacob and Guillaume Apollinaire, and performances of music by Erik Satie and Igor Stravinsky. In 1911 Poiret's maison expanded to encompass interior decoration and fragrances. He introduced "Parfums de Rosine," named after his daughter, becoming the first French couturier to launch a signature fragrance. A second perfume – "Le Minaret, was then introduced playing on the oriental theme that Poiret adored so much. In the same year Poiret was inspired to move into interior design after a tour of European capitals putting on fashion shows to promote his brand. He visited Vienna and saw the work of the Weiner Werkstätte movement under which artists architects and designers worked collaboratively to produce exclusive interiors and products. Despite an admiration for their work Poiret disliked the rigid training methods of the Austrian Design schools feeling that they stifled creativity. In 1911 Poiret launched the Les École Martine, a home decor division of his fashion design house, named after his second daughter. In doing so he became the first couturier to align fashion with interior design promoting the concept of a "total lifestyle." Poiret and the École Martine provided working-class girls with artistic leanings a chance to learn trade skills and earn an income. Students in Les École Martine were allowed the freedom to explore their imaginations so that they might produce more natural, unstudied designs. These designs were then sold in his Maison Martine shops. A number of private and public commissions for complete interiors followed most notably for the home of actress Isadora Duncan and the interior of Helena Rubinstein’s Parisian beauty salon. Poiret's interior designs are seen in the upper part of this exhibition. Poiret now dominated the world of fashion, and the personal aesthetic he had helped popularise with his home furnishing lines was gaining such ground throughout Europe that a major exhibition, the original Exposition des Arts Décoratifs, was planned for 1915. But then came war. Early in World War I, Poiret was obliged to leave his fashion house to serve in the military. When he returned in 1919, the business was on the brink of bankruptcy. New designers like Chanel were producing simple, sleek clothes that relied on excellent workmanship. In comparison, Poiret's elaborate designs seemed poorly manufactured. The harsh realities of life during and after the war meant that his extravagant designs fell out of favour. Though not as popular, post-war, Poiret enjoyed a brief resurgence. He maintained links with the avant-garde, giving Man Ray his first work as a fashion photographer, but his influence began to wane as the sportier, more informal aesthetic of Coco Chanel began to take over. For the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in 1925 he staged a last ditch attempt to hold on to his reputation, launching three specially designed boats on the Seine, each lavishly decked out in Martine designs with his fashions displayed on mannequins featuring heads inspired by Modigliani. But the effort bankrupted him. In debt, forced to sell his art collections and abandoned by wife Denise, Poiret sank into poverty and obscurity, as the modernist movement he had played a pivotal role in creating flourished around him. He had found a style he loved and wasn’t able to move with the times. Utility, function, and rationality replaced his brand of luxury, ornament, and sensuality. Poiret could not reconcile the ideals and aesthetics of modernism with those of his own artistic vision and was forced to leave the fashion empire he had established. Following the financial turmoil of the global stock market crash of 1929, the house was closed in 1932, with its leftover stock sold by the kilogram as rags. Poverty led Poiret to doing odd jobs, including work as a street painter, selling drawings to customers of Paris cafes. At one time, the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture discussed providing a monthly financial allowance to aid Poiret, an idea rejected by president of the group Charles Frederick Worth whom Poiret began his career with. His friend Elsa Schiaparelli prevented his name from falling into complete oblivion though, and it was Schiaparelli who paid for his burial. When Poiret died in 1944, his genius had been all but forgotten. The exhibition concludes with a look at the fashions of contemporary designers who have taken inspiration from Poiret's work. Although certain contemporary fashion designers acknowledge the importance of his role in fashion history, Poiret, despite being a pioneering visionary, has been less celebrated than other historical fashion designers publicly. This fantastic exhibition was great at giving visitors a sense of the Belle Epoque period, and should go some way to redressing the balance in restoring Poiret's reputation.

André Derain - Portrait of Paul Poiret, 1915

House of Worth dress

Paul Iribe - Poiret Dress designs

Raoul Dufy textile design

Paul Poiret in military uniform, 1914

Erté, models for Paul Poiret, 1913-1914

Paul Iribe, Study of a Rose, 1910

Paul Iribe - Rose d'Iribe

Victor Lhuer, models for Paul Poiret, 1910-25

Georges Lepape, les Cerises, toilette de campagne par Paul Poiret, 1913

Paul Poiret - Manteau, La Perse, 1911

Karl Lagerfeld - Evening gown for Chloé, 1971

Paul Poiret - Robe de Soir, Mosaïque, c.1910

Maurice de Vlaminck - buttons, 1910

Maurice de Vlaminck/ André Metthey - Plates, 1908

Natalia Gontcharova/Muolle Rossignol - Dance Costume, 1921

Natalia Gontcharova - L'Espagnole à l'éventail, 1921

Paul Poiret label with Rose design by Paul Iribe.

Léon Bakst - Bacchante, 1911

Jean Cocteau - Diaghilev et Nijinsky, 1912

Erté - Danseurs, 1912

Léon Bakst - Decor for the ballet Shéhérezade, 1910

Ballets Russes Programmes, 1910-12

Georges Lepape - Paul Poiret Dress designs, 1913

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Mlle Spinelli dressed by Paul Poiret, 1919-1920

Léon Bakst -  Caryathis poster design, 1916 

Georges Lepape (1887-1971) - Paul Poiret, Tour of Europe poster, 1920

Erté - Le Rêve... Le plus beau voyage... 1923

Charles Martin - Tanger ou Les charmes de l'exil, robe et cape de Paul Poiret, 1920

Jean Patou - Fleurs de Pais ensemble for Christian Lacroix, 1987

Jean Paul Gaultier, Le grand Voyage ensemble, 1994

Victor Lhuer - Paul Poiret dresses, 1911

Dries Van Noten - Coat, 2006

Agatha Ruiz de la Prada - Robe, 1994

Georges Lepape - Les Jardins de Versailles costume, 1913

Paul Poiret/Mariana Fortuny - Ensemble Bacchante, 1912

Paul Poiret - Ensemble Minaret, 1911

Studio Lipnitzki - Paul Poiret and Joséphine Baker, 1925

A selection of Paul Poiret dress designs worn by his clientele

Marie Laurencin - Woman with a Dove, 1919

Comme des Garçons - Coat, 2013

Atelier Martine - Anemones textile design, 1912

Studio Lipnitzky - Paul Poiret, c. 1910-1920

Atelier Martine designs

Atelier Martine - Soleils, Vases et Jacinthes designs, 1919-1924

Atelier Martine interior scheme

Paul Poiret perfume range

Paul Poiret - La Femme au pantin, 1930

Schiaparelli - Robe du Soir, 1950-51

Paul Poiret with mask by sculptor Gourset, 1935

Paul Poiret: La Mode Est Une Fête (Fashion is a Feast)
until 11th January 2026
Musée Des Arts Décoratifs
107 Rue De Rivoli
75001
Paris
France