Muguet de Paris

Madeleine Vionnet was a feminist before the hour. In 1896, she left her husband and her native land to cross the Channel on the pretext of learning English. Upon arrival, she was hired by a London fashion house. Returning to Paris, she perfected her technique at such prestigious houses as that of the Callot sisters and Jacques Doucet before opening her own on rue de Rivoli, then on avenue Montaigne.

Her designs were nothing less than revolutionary in the years before the Great War. She created gowns of a rare architectural purity based on geometric forms, employing the bias cut (used before in linings, but now for the entire garment) and draping, inspired by ancient Greece. She personally created each model on a small doll of the type used by art students. Women were liberated from corsets and stays and allowed to move freely while revealing their bodies. Scandalous! Her models walked down the runway barelegged and wearing sandals.

Vionnet is recognized as a pioneer in the world of fashion, but who knew about her social innovations? Her workers enjoyed benefits that were unheard of at the time:  the traditional stools of the seamstresses were replaced by comfortable chairs, and there were a canteen, a daycare center, and a doctor and dentist on site. More unusual still, she introduced paid holidays and maternity leave, even before it became the law of the land.

For Jean Pierre Gaultier, “Madeleine Vionnet symbolizes the apogee of Haute Couture.” Balenciaga took apart her creations so as to understand their construction. John Galliano cites her as “my principal influence,” and Tom Ford calls her (along with Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent) ”one of the three great couturiers of the last century.”  Christian Dior, Valentino, Vivienne Westwood, Azzedine Alaia – her influence is indisputable on a list of designers too numerous to mention.

Although Vionnet is revered in her profession, her work has been largely forgotten by the general public. The ongoing retrospective at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs is sure to change that. Vionnet liked nothing better than to transmit her knowledge, Upon her death in 1975 at the age of 99, she bequeathed to the museum her archives, containing 73 volumes of copyrights, 13,000 photographs, 725 patterns and 127 articles of clothing.

The museum is to be congratulated on the brilliant choice of designer Andrée Putman for the mise en scène. I suspect that Vionnet would have been pleased, one iconoclast creating a setting to display the work of another. Putman’s trademark sobriety in the decor of the rooms — subdued lighting, black walls, simple vitrines – provides an effective background to set off Vionnet’s designs. 

If I were allowed one complaint, it would be this. At the beginning of the exhibition, the dresses are posed in front of mirrors, a capital idea that afforded a three-dimensonal view. However, about halfway through, the practice was abandoned, and we were forced to rely on the reflection in the glass of the vitrine to try and discern the details. One is left to wonder what rationale prompted this decision, as many of Vionnet’s creations are even more interesting when viewed from behind.

The lighting in the room (not to mention the guards, who seem to be getting more and more picky about this) prevented taking photos. However, if this whets your appetite, a visit to the site of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs may satisfy it. There you will find a slide show (Diaporama) featuring 35 of her works.

The exhibition continues through 31 January 2010. Musée des Arts Décoratifs, 107 rue de Rivoli (Métro Tuileries or Palais-Royal).

(Photo Credits: (1) Wikipedia Commons, (2) Harper’s Bazaar, (3) and (4) Madame Figaro.

Jan del Monte, blogging from the rue du Cherche-Midi, Paris, France

© 2009 Jan del Monte

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