Jeanne Paquin

Evening dress by Jeanne Paquin (1912)

Jeanne Paquin , also known as Madame Paquin (nee Becker; * 1869 in Saint-Denis , † 1936 in Paris ) was one of the first fashion designers . For over three decades she helped shape the fashion scene of her time. Their fur-trimmed costumes and coats became famous.

After training as a tailor in Christoph Drecoll's Parisian fashion salon , Jeanne Paquin founded her own fashion house in 1891 at Rue de la Paix 3. She was supported by her husband Isidore Paquin, a banker who also took over the management of her salon. After his death in 1919, her brother Henri Joire ran the business. Her customers included celebrities like the Queen of Belgium and Wallis Simpson . She was known for luxurious evening dresses in delicate, finely coordinated colors, fur-trimmed costumes and coats as well as a collection of tango dresses , with which she caused a sensation in 1913.

As early as 1900 she was the chairman of the fashion show organization of the Paris World Exhibition, she also acted temporarily as president of the "Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne". For her services to the French economy, she was awarded the Legion of Honor Cross in 1913 , making her the first woman to receive this recognition.

Entrance of the Paquin house on rue de la Paix (painting by Jean Béraud , 1907)

Five o'clock at Paquin (painting by Henri Gervex , 1906)

In 1912 she opened a salon in London, further branches in Madrid and Buenos Aires and a fur shop in New York followed. She was the first fashion designer to send mannequins to the horse races in Longchamp and Chantilly for promotional purposes . She also went on a tour of the USA with four mannequins, following the example of Paul Poiret . She withdrew from her business activities in 1920. After her death in 1936, the fashion house she founded became the property of the Spaniard Antonio Castillo . The company continued to exist, now at 120 Rue du Faubourg-St-Honoré. In 1953, Paquin bought the House of Worth . On July 1, 1956, the company was liquidated.

Jeanne Paquin also found its way into literature. Marcel Proust mentions the fashion designer in his novel In Search of Lost Time . There, one of the fictional characters explains on the occasion of a discussion about elegance that apart from the sisters Callot and Doucet , Chéruit and - albeit with the limiting note "sometimes also" - Jeanne Paquin - there are only dreadful couturiers .

Paquin designs from La Gazette du Bon Ton magazine :

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  1913

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  1913, designed by Léon Bakst

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  1914

literature

• Ingrid Loschek: Reclam's fashion and costume lexicon. 5th edition Reclam, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-15-010577-3 , pp. 560f.

Web links

Commons : Jeanne Paquin  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• House of Paquin , website of the Victoria and Albert Museum