Paul Poiret
Paul Poiret was born on April 20, 1879 in Paris, France. When Poiret was 12, his family moved to Rue des Halles in Paris, where Poiret attended Ecole Massillon. He then worked at the the family business where he soon showed a preference for dressmaking. In 1898, he joined the house of Jacques Doucet. He worked shortly for Maison Worth in 1900 and 1901. In 1903, Poiret opened his own house at 5 Rue Auber; where he immediately attracted attention for his daring business choices, and designs.
Paul Poiret launched his slim, simple, high-waisted line in 1908, with its less structured cut and delicately layered exotic style. His 1911, famous One Thousand and One Night Ball set off a lasting trend for the exotic. He used light silks, gold tassels, turbans, tunic dresses and bold embroidery in his creations.
In 1911 he launched his fragrance and his cosmetic collection “Rosine,” which was merchandized in rare silver and crystal bottles designed by Lalique. Ahead of his time he published the first albums of sketches by the best known illustrators of the time to publicize his designs: Les Robes de Paul Poiret raccontees par Paul Iribe (1908), and Les Choses de Paul Poiret vues par Georges Lepape (1911).
In 1917, he opened a branch in New York and created Poiret Incorporated for the distribution of a ready-to-wear collection. In 1919, after World War I, he opened new branches in La Baule; in Cannes in 1921, and in Deauville and Biarritz in 1924. He designed for theater and cinema costume designs; which complimented his creative exuberance. In 1925 after the famous exposition of that year he was forced to sell his valuable private art collection to pay for his innumerable debts. In 1926, his fashion house went through liquidation. Poiret sunk into obscurity, and in 1944 died in poverty; shortly before his friend Jean Cocteau had completed a retrospective exhibition of his paintings.
A true innovator of fashion Paul Poiret died April 30, 1944 in Paris, France.
