As fragile as a masterpiece, each of the dresses will have required up to three days of modeling to achieve such perfection.

©MuseePP-ParisMusees-GautierDeblonde

This is the exhibition not to be missed before the start of the school year. "Worth. Inventing Haute Couture" brings to life the fascinating history of this fashion house, which remained in the hands of the same family for nearly a century. At its helm, Charles Frederic Worth, the visionary patriarch, and his descendants laid the foundations of the haute couture as we know it today. Through a chronological journey, from the Second Empire to the Roaring Twenties, the exhibition retraces this family saga in a France undergoing rapid change. More than 400 pieces – sumptuous dresses, accessories, objets d'art, paintings, drawings – make up a rich and vibrant scenography. This retrospective, the result of a collaboration with the Palais Galliera, was made possible thanks to exceptional loans from its collections, under the leadership of its general curator Sophie Grossiord in association with Marine Kisiel, co-curator. A unique opportunity to rediscover the Worth house, unjustly forgotten, but whose influence still resonates in the contemporary fashionA visit illuminated by the perspective of Raphaële Martin-Pigalle, chief curator at the Petit Palais and also co-curator.

Until September 7, www.petitpalais.paris.fr

Worth, father of haute couture

Portrait of Charles Frederick Worth by Émile Friant dated 1893

"The young Englishman Charles Frederick Worth arrived in Paris in 1846. Initially destined for a career in printing, which he found lacking enthusiasm, he changed direction by moving to Paris, already the capital of women's fashion. He then started as a clerk at Gagelin, " novelty store » which offers everything needed to complete an outfit (jackets, braid, trimmings). There he met his future wife, Marie Vernet, who was a saleswoman and became his muse and first ambassador. Very quickly, Worth distinguished himself with his inventiveness and ambition. Quickly feeling cramped in this overly traditional setting, he founded his own fashion house a few years later with the Swede Otto Bobergh. One of his revolutionary ideas sums up his vision well: he proposed reversing the logic of current commerce. Why, instead of selling fabric to make dresses, wouldn't we offer dresses to sell fabric? » A radical break in the way of thinking about fashion. This was Worth's great revolution: he bought the fabrics himself, designed and made the dresses, then offered them directly to his clients. This reversal of perspective was a turning point: from then on, women abandoned their seamstresses, and the models imagined by the couturier took over. It is thus said that Charles Frederick Worth invented haute couture, also establishing the figure of the great couturier as we know it today. He established his personality as a brand, signed his creations like an artist, a new gesture at the time, and imposed his own aesthetic through the photography of his models. At the end of the 19th century, the house innovated by inventing runway shows with live models. It also imagined the concept of seasonality with spring, summer, autumn and winter collections, in order to respond to the need to date and protect designs in the face of the proliferation of counterfeits. To preserve the authorship of his creations, like many fashion houses, he finally developed the registration of models, comparable to a patent application.

New era, new silhouette

A bustle dress design that Worth interprets brilliantly

“The Second Empire collapsed in 1870, swept away by the Franco-Prussian War and the Commune. Seizing the changing times, Otto Bobergh returned to Sweden, and the house of Worth then became that of Charles Frederick. Despite the fall of the imperial court, for which he was the official purveyor, Worth managed to maintain his position and opened up to a new clientele, notably the flourishing one of wealthy American women. His perfect command of English allowed him to win over this new elite. Worth also relied on the strong ties he had already established with other European courts: for example, he designed the coronation gown for Empress Sissi as Queen of Hungary in 1867. Beyond the political upheavals, the success of the house remains undisputed. If the Second Empire was the reign of the crinoline, the feminine silhouette evolved radically. We see the appearance of the bustle dress, which relegated volume to the back of the outfit. This transformation is accompanied by a style nicknamed " upholsterer ", in reference to the upholstery fabrics used: velvet, brocades, fringes, braids and trimmings. Fantasy is expressed in the profusion of details. Dress, curtains, sofas… everything seems to respond to each other in the same abundant decorative universe, where the toilet becomes a total work of art."

The Worth myth through the generations

The exceptional “lily dress” worn by Countess Greffulhe

“Charles Frederick died in 1895, but the transition was seamless: his sons were already working for the house. This is where the myth takes root, giving the impression of a personality who had lived through XNUMX years, when in reality, several generations would take up his work and perpetuate the spirit of the house. One of the display cases illustrating this shift honors Countess Greffulhe, a figure from the end of the XNUMXth century, several of whose dress designs are preserved at the Palais Galliera. Patron, artist, philanthropist, she was, according to Proust, “ the most beautiful woman in Paris » and inspired the character of the Duchess of Guermantes. An icon of her time, she was dressed by Worth, who notably made for her the famous evening dress known as " to the lilies » (circa 1896). With its large white lilies contrasting with the black velvet, this dress, the source of countless poems and literary digressions, has undergone a meticulous restoration documented in a short film by journalist Loïc Prigent (available online). This colossal work in the shadows deserved to be highlighted: it takes one to three days of modeling per dress, and the exhibition presents nearly 80 of them! So you can imagine the time needed for its assembly! Before its restoration, the dress « to the lilies " was x-rayed to reveal its internal construction, providing valuable information to preserve its authenticity. Despite the care taken, it remains so fragile that it can now only be displayed flat."

An avant-garde workshop

The famous "tea-gown", a perfect illustration of a fashion that is learning to come in several colors

"The Worth house stands out for its exemplary organization: several workshops, bringing together varied expertise, work in parallel on the same dress. This extremely well-thought-out system allows for the production of unique pieces, which are then offered to customers, sometimes in different colors. This is particularly the case with this elegant dress." tea gown » by Countess Greffulhe, made in a sumptuous green and navy moiré fabric. The « tea gown " was a dress designed to be worn at home around five o'clock, with an innovative cut for the time, the princess line, without a seam at the waist. The pattern of this dress also existed in yellow and green, presented here in a fabric by Tassinari and Chatel. This ability to produce the same model in several colors reflects a remarkably efficient production system, where each workshop performs a precise and orderly task. This organization made it possible to respond to urgent orders, as evidenced by several accounts of clients arriving at the workshop with nothing to wear for a ball that evening. According to the memoirs of Jean-Philippe Worth, certainly embellished for the benefit of family legend, the house never refused an order, capable of making or shipping a dress in record time. It is partly this operation of specialized workshops that made Worth successful and laid the foundations of haute couture."

Fashion at the heart of creation

Famous dancer Ida Rubinstein looks stunning in a Worth dress

“The beginning of the 1913th century marked a revival for the house thanks to the introduction of new materials, such as knitwear and jersey. These innovations demonstrate the house’s ability to evolve with the times, to adapt to modern materials, changing tastes, and new silhouettes. This portrait dating from 1909 represents Ida Rubinstein, a famous dancer who arrived in Paris in XNUMX. This painting, by Antonio de La Gandara, illustrates well the role of this artist, who often accompanied his clients to the couturiers to choose the most flattering outfit with them. His model here wears an exceptional dress created for the dress rehearsal of “ Honeysuckle » by Gabriele D'Annunzio. This image reveals the full interplay between literature, ballet, opera, painting, and couture, illustrating the intellectual effervescence of the 1910s. Incidentally, Ida Rubinstein was known for her high standards: it is said that she asked dressmakers to destroy any remaining lengths of fabric to ensure she would never see another woman wearing the same dress as her at a party.

The “collabs” of art

A lacquer screen by Jean Dunand, close to Jean-Charles Worth, whose creative spirit would infuse the house's collections

“The 20s marked the flowering of Art Deco, and the Worth house was fully in line with this modernity. It was now run by the third generation of Worth designers, particularly Jean-Charles, who gave it new impetus—in 1928, he was the first French couturier to grace the cover of Time Magazine—and multiplied artistic collaborations, as evidenced by the one initiated with Jean Dunand. A prolific artist, Dunand was then best known for his decorative lacquer panels. Representative of the achievements of the 1920s and 1930s, and inspired by the Far East, the coppersmith imagined a fish motif that soon appeared in the decorative arts, in Worth's designs for Princess Murat, and even in accessories. At the heart of the Roaring Twenties, Jean-Charles Worth perpetuated the house's heyday and, like his ancestors, remained infinitely close to many contemporary designers, always promoting the interaction between fashion and the arts and constantly managing to renew the brand's image.

From the workshop to the bottle

And the fashion house became a perfume house...

"Finally, like any great fashion house, Worth embarked on the adventure of perfumes, following the path traced by Paul Poiret in 1911, then by Gabrielle Chanel in 1921. The story began thanks to the meeting of three men: Maurice Blanchet, perfumer and inventor of the Cité des parfums; René Lalique, master glassmaker; and the house of Worth, under the initial impetus of Jean-Philippe Worth. The project would come to fruition especially under the third generation, with Jean-Charles Worth. The house's first perfume, " In the night ", was born in 1924, followed by a series of olfactory creations, the greatest success of which remains " I will be back ", launched between 1929 and 1932 and available in several forms. This iconic fragrance was able to be restored thanks to the Osmothèque, the International Conservatory of Perfumes in Versailles, which preserved its formula. The names of the perfumes bear witness to remarkable creativity and modernity: " Without goodbye "," Renaissance "," Imprudence "," Request "," Without you »» »