Jeanne Paquin
| Jeanne Paquin | |
|---|---|
Madame Paquin
|
|
| Born |
Jeanne Marie Charlotte Beckers 1869 Saint-Denis, France |
| Died | 1936 Paris, France |
| Occupation | Couturière, fashion designer |
| Spouse(s) | Isidore Rene Jacob dit Paquin |
| Labels | Maison Paquin |
Jeanne Paquin (French pronunciation: [ʒan pakɛ̃]) (1869–1936) was a leading French fashion designer, known for her resolutely modern and innovative designs. She was the first major female couturier and one of the pioneers of the modern fashion business.
Jeanne Paquin was born Jeanne Marie Charlotte Beckers in 1869. Her father was a physician.
Sent out to work as a young teenager, Jeanne trained as a dressmaker at Rouff (a Paris couture house established in 1884 and located on Boulevard Haussmann). She quickly rose through to ranks becoming première, in charge of the atelier.
In 1891, Jeanne Marie Charlotte Beckers married Isidore René Jacob, who was also known as Paquin. Isidore owned Paquin Lalanne et cie, a couture house which had grown out of a menswear shop in the 1840s. The couple renamed the company Paquin and set about building the business.
In 1890, Jeanne and Isidore Paquin opened their Maison de Couture at 3 Rue de la Paix in Paris, next to the celebrated House of Worth. Jeanne was in charge of design, while Isidore ran the business.
Initially, Jeanne favored the pastels in fashion at the time. Eventually, she moved on to stronger colors like black and her signature red. Black had been traditionally the color of mourning. Jeanne made the color fashionable by blending it with vividly colorful linings and embroidered trim.
Jeanne Paquin was the first couturier to send models dressed in her apparel to public events such operas and horse races for publicity. Paquin also frequently collaborated with the illustrators and architects such as Léon Bakst, George Barbier, Robert Mallet-Stevens, and Louis Süe. In 1913, a New York Times reporter described Jeanne as "the most commercial artist alive."
A London branch of The House of Paquin was opened in 1896 and the business became a limited company the same year. This shop employed a young Madeleine Vionnet. The company later expanded with shops in Buenos Aires and Madrid.
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Wikipedia