Madame Grès | The Legendary Couturière Who Revolutionized Fashion

Madame Grès

The Legendary Couturière Who Revolutionized Fashion

In the 1920s and 30s, an era that produced numerous female couturières like Chanel, Lanvin, and Schiaparelli, Madame Grès emerged as the last of them. Who was this woman, whose name is still spoken today and who continues to influence countless designers?

A Stoic Pursuit of Beauty, Continuously Expressing the Essence of Elegance

The 1920s saw fashion dominated by straight lines and the Garçonne style, a look that favored a boyish charm. Perhaps as a reaction, the 1930s saw a revival of romantic styles that heavily utilized feminine curves. A prominent talent of this era was a designer known as Madame Grès.

Though born into a bourgeois family in Paris, she left home with aspirations of becoming a sculptor. To support herself, she began creating toile for coats. However, her work, driven by her artistic ambitions, possessed a richness and artistry previously unseen in clothing. Discovered by the president of the major American department store Macy’s, Grès truly entered the world of fashion. Her rise to fame came with the dress she unveiled in 1935, a creation that evoked ancient Greek sculptures.

This dress, crafted from wide, thin silk jersey, was characterized by its beautifully cascading, multi-layered drapery. Eschewing sketches, she developed a unique method of draping fabric directly onto the body before cutting. She would meticulously create exquisite drapes, sometimes incorporating as many as 300 precise tuck pleats. People soon began to call her 'the sculptor of fabric.'

Madame Grès, who received numerous fashion awards and titles, including the Légion d'honneur twice, led the Parisian fashion world for many years as the president of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture. Possessing an unyielding inner strength while never forgetting to carry herself with beauty and grace, she passed away in 1993. To this day, she is revered by women worldwide as 'the most elegant woman in the world.'

References:

Histoire de la mode du XXe siècle (History of 20th Century Fashion) by Bruno du Rosel, translated by Aiko Nishimura, Heibonsha
The Dream of the Body, The Costume Museum
www.parfumsgres.com/biography.html
www.fashionmuseum.or.jp/museum/special.html

Those Who Loved Madame Grès

Among the luminaries who held Madame Grès in the highest esteem were Yves Saint Laurent, Jean Cocteau, Givenchy, and Balmain—figures who themselves shaped fashion. Here, we share glimpses of their interactions, including photographs and letters exchanged.

Madame Grès at Work

Images of Madame Grès working in her atelier and mannequins posing in her boutique. The photographs of the people who surrounded her seem to convey a deep love for fashion, a sincere passion for couture, and meticulous craftsmanship.

Fashion Photography and Madame Grès

From the flourishing era of fashion in the 1920s and 30s, Madame Grès's creations were beloved by photographers like Man Ray, serving as their muse. Here, we present a comprehensive look at Madame Grès's dresses through the changing decades.

Yagi Tsusho
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