Léonard Autié

Léonard-Alexis Autié, also Autier (c. 1751 – 20 March 1820), often referred to simply as Monsieur Léonard, was the favourite hairdresser of Queen Marie Antoinette and in 1788–1789 founded the Théâtre de Monsieur, "the first resident theatre in France to produce a year-round repertory of Italian opera."

Born in the medieval town of Pamiers in southwestern France, he was the son of Alexis Autié and Catherine Fournier, who were domestic servants. He spent time in Bordeaux, where he began to work as a hairdresser.

In 1769 he moved to Paris, where he began styling the hair of Julie Niébert, an actress at the Théâtre de Nicolet. His unusual hairstyles immediately attracted attention, and he was soon styling the hair of women of the nobility, including Madame du Barry, Louis XV's mistress and the Marquise de Langeac, a lady-in-waiting to the Dauphine Marie-Antoinette. By 1772 he had become the hairstylist of the Dauphine herself.

In January 1774, at the request of Marie Antoinette, Autié and Rose Bertin (her dressmaker) resuscitated the French fashion magazine, the Journal des Dames. The princess funded the venture, and the financially desperate Baroness de Prinzen agreed to lend her name to the project as the "managing editor". Needless to say, the very first issue was highly laudatory of the Dauphine's dress and hair styles. It also featured a new hairstyle invented by Mademoiselle Bertin, the ques-a-co ("What is it?"), consisting of three feathers at the back of the head, forming something similar to a question mark. Soon it was worn by all the princesses at court, and even by the king's mistress Madame du Barry. Although Léonard and Rose were "like two good sisters", Léonard could not help feeling a bit jealous, and before long he invented the pouf, which was first worn in April 1774 by the Duchess of Chartres, but was soon adopted by Marie-Antoinette, who made it very popular.

...
Wikipedia