Charles James (designer)
| Charles James | |
|---|---|
Wedding dress with orange-blossom choker, 1934, for Baba Beaton. V&A Museum.
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| Born |
Charles Wilson Brega James 18 July 1906 Agincourt House, Camberley, Surrey, United Kingdom |
| Died | 23 September 1978 New York City, United States |
| Nationality | British-American |
| Occupation | Fashion designer |
| Partner(s) | Nancy Lee Gregory (1954-1961) |
| Children | Charles James Jr. and Louise Dominique James |
| Parent(s) | Ralph Ernest Haweis James and Louise Enders Brega |
| Awards | Coty Award (1950 and 1954) and Neiman Marcus Fashion Award (1953) |
Charles Wilson Brega James (18 July 1906 – 23 September 1978) was a British-born fashion designer known as "America's First Couturier". He is widely considered to have been a master of cutting and is known for his highly structured aesthetic.
James' father was Ralph Ernest Haweis James, a British army officer and instructor at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. His mother was Louise Enders Brega, a Chicago "patrician". In 1919, he attended Harrow School, where he met Evelyn Waugh, Francis Cyril Rose, and, most importantly, Cecil Beaton, with whom he formed a longstanding friendship. He was expelled from Harrow for a "sexual escapade".
At the age of nineteen in 1926, Charles James opened his first hat shop in Chicago, using the name of a schoolfriend, "Charles Boucheron".
In 1928, he left Chicago for Long Island with 70 cents, a Pierce Arrow, and a number of hats as his only possessions. He later opened a hat shop above a garage in Murray Hill, Queens, New York, beginning his first dress designs.
From New York James moved to London, setting up shop in Mayfair. He also spent time in Paris in the early 1930s, studying, but was primarily a self-taught designer.. In 1934 he designed the dress for Baba (Barbara) Beaton for her wedding to Alec Hambro on November 6, 1934. The young designer created a very modern interpretation of the white wedding dress, with a raised neckline and divided train. Although the bride wanted a quite wedding, the event was widely reported because of her high-profile social life: the famous photographer Cecil Beaton was her brother.
James showed one of his most successful collections in Paris in 1947. In the 1950s, he spent most of his time in New York.
According to Harold Koda, The Costume Institute curator in charge, James "transformed fashion design" and his "many advancements included the spiral cut and the taxi dress (created in 1929 and so easy to wear it could be slipped on in the backseat of a taxi)". James also "championed strapless in the Thirties; invented the figure-eight skirt, the puffer jacket and the Pavlovian waistband that expands after a meal, and was an early proponent of licensing". Christian Dior is "said to have credited James with inspiring The New Look".
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