Charles Frederick Worth

The Father of Haute Couture

Was he the one who invented fashion?

Charles Frederick Worth(13 Oct 1825 10 March 1895) did not invent fashion. There was fashion before Worth and there were well-known dressmakers before Worth, but Worth was the first male to become a professional clothing designer for women and the first clothing designer to become internationally famous. He is considered the father of haute couture.

 Charles Frederick Worth was an Englishman in the 19th century who went to Paris to begin his career in the fashion world at the age of 19 where he decided to open his own couture house after the dresses he designed for Marie Vernet, his future wife and muse, attracted much attention. He not only created Haute Couture, but also various other modern fashion practices like:  The creation of seasonal fashion styles & trends  The use of fashion models  The fashion brand name as a label

This is probably Charles Frederick Worths most iconic design. It shows the influence of the Art Nouveau movement at the turn of the century. The velvet scroll design is very similar to the wrought iron designs found on Parisian architecture of the era.

FEW FACTS
 Beyond his crinoline bubbles (reinforced petticoat), Charles Frederick Worth is credited with inventing the fashion show.

 It was his idea to show his models on live mannequins to his customers.

 His extraordinary cachet was to present 4 collections each year.

 He and his sons also founded the 'Chambre de la Couture Parisienne' (French Haute Couture Association) in 1868, which came up with the specific criteria a fashion designer needs to fulfil in order to be allowed to call himself a 'Couturier'.

Paul Poiret
The one who liberated Womens wear

Paul Poiret , (1879-1944), French couturier, He served an apprenticeship with Jacques Doucet in the 1890s, moved to the Maison Worth in 1900

Paul Poiret's goal was to achieve an impression "of simple charm, of calm perfection comparable to that which is felt standing next to an antique statue". "It is what a woman, leaves off, not what she puts on that gives her cachet" Paul Poiret

 In 1903 opened his own small studio. Dominating Paris couture from 1909 to 1914, Poiret revolutionized fashion with his designs for the "new woman," ending wasp waists and constricting corsets, reviving a simple, Empire-waisted silhouette, and introducing pantaloons. Around 1910 he introduced the appropriately named hobble skirt, with volume around the hips narrowing to an ankle-hugging bottom.

 He created ensembles of walking coats and dresses, and short hoop "lampshade" tunics over long sheaths. Inspired by interests in art nouveau, East Asia, and the Ballets Russes, he designed jewelcolored evening gowns and such exotic costumes as coulottes, harem pants and skirts, fringed capes, and turbans. He was the first designer to produce (1911) a line of fragrances and cosmetics, and also created items for the home. World War I brought an end to Poiret's flights of fancy, and though he was active in the 1920s his designs were no longer fashionable.