Madame Gres
| Madame Gres | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Germaine Émilie Krebs November 30, 1903 Paris, France |
| Died | November 24, 1993 (aged 89) |
| Nationality | French |
| Occupation | Fashion designer |
| Spouse(s) | Serge Czerefkov |
| Children | 1 |
Madame Grès (1903–1993) born Germaine Émilie Krebs, also known as Alix Barton and Alix, was a leading French couturier of her generation and costume designer. She founded the former haute couture fashion house "Grès" as well as the associated perfume house "Parfums Grès" which still exists today in Switzerland. Remembered as the "Sphinx of Fashion", Grès was notoriously secretive about her personal life and was seen as a workaholic with a furious attention to detail, therefore she preferred to let her work do the talking. Called the "master of the wrapped and draped dress" and "queen of drapery", Grès is best known for her floor-length draped Grecian goddess gowns. Grès's minimalistic draping techniques and her attention and respect for the female body have had a lasting effect on the haute couture and fashion industry and she is credited for inspiring a number of recent designers.
Madame Grès was born and raised in Paris, France. Early in life, Grès studied painting and sculpting. Grès originally dreamed of becoming a sculptress but after many objections made by her family she shifted her interests towards the art of fashion design and clothing making. Using her formal training in sculpture, Grès was able to apply her sculpting techniques to her fabric forms. Grès's first job in the industry of fashion was a woman's hat maker where she excelled until she began focusing on couture dressmaking. After distinguishing her area of interest, Grès received her early training in haute couture dressmaking at the fashion house, Maison Premet, a house known for requiring extreme perfection.
In 1932, Grès opened her first couture fashion house, La Maison Alix. In 1933, Grès and her coworker, Juliette Barton, combined their names to create Alix Barton, which she designed under for a short amount of time. Grès dropped the "Barton" in 1934 and designed under her own name, "Alix", for the remainder of the 1930s and up until 1942. During this time, Grès's infamous style of classical drapery and elegant gowns became the signature of the couture fashion house. At this time she became known for her technique of using live mannequins, designing and creating garments directly on the models. Her early work shows Greco-Roman sculpture influences as well as simple lines and attention to the female body. Her preferred media during this time was silk jersey and paper taffeta While operating her haute couture fashion house under the name Alix, she first gained positive attention and critical acclaim for designing costumes in 1935 for Jean Giraudoux's play, "The Trojan War Will Not Take Place". After receiving much applause for her theatrical costume designs, Grès became one of the leading designers of that time designing for many notable figures such as the Duchess of Windsor, Paloma Picasso, Grace Kelly, Marlene Dietrich, and Greta Garbo.
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