Jacques Fath 1947, Here's Your Invitation To The Event.

Yes, it is that time again, to revel in the mastery of Jacques Fath.   Here's a link to Jacques Fath in some past posts.   I also have a Pinterest board devoted to Jacques Fath, please check it out.  I admire his style and he was (is and will be) spot on with artistic merit.  I'm so mesmerized by his work and I hope one day to view a couture dress by him in person.  Oh to just be a fly on the wall as he played out his ideas to his seamstresses.   I won this photograph in an auction and thought it captured such a moment in time.  To have been at the Jacques Fath couture house and witness first hand his creations walk the isle.  If placed back in time, I'm all the way in the corner mid-right, won't you join me?    Amazing fashion times!

This photograph was taken in 1947.  Yes, the same year that Christian Dior was also taking the fashion world by storm.  

Another funny note, I actually did double check the picture to see if the mole on the models  face was a blemish on my scanner. lol.  It's actually quite meant to be.  An ode, to Marie Antoinette I'm thinking.  It is interesting how the model is not wearing earrings but is draped in a wonderful sparkling necklace.  Wouldn't this have been quite interesting if he would have had the model wear a powdered wig too?  But really think about the style and cut of this dress…this is 1947.   This could easily have been made 10 years later and been quite in style.  

Details to the photograph...

Another image of this dress via this link.

There are also two celebrities in the audience Nita Raya and Maurice Chevalier.  They met when he was 46 and she was 19.  They were married until 1946 per Wikipedia.  Nita Raya may very well still be alive today.  I've looked up a little about her.  What is also interesting is that she was jewish so this must have been difficult for her to be in Europe during the wartime.  It is interesting they chose to stay and not come to the USA.   If you'd like to hear more about their war years here is a link.  I wish there were more resource material about her.

Image of Nita Raya source

Nita Raya

Link to her history.

YouTube Clip:

More details of the photograph:

Love those shoes!

A fur on the ground, interesting.

Jacques Fath Gown labeled as 1948 via MET    From what I can see a gift in 1951 to the MET.  Quite interesting to receive this only a few years after it appeared on the runway.  

A similar Jacques Fath gown 1954 via Decades

In researching this period about Jacques Fath, I came upon the V&A's exhibit about the golden age of couture and came upon a lovely segment about Jacques Fath and Lady Alexandrea.

Here she is in a Jacques Fath gown from the V&A website.  I invite you all to read about how she acquired the gown.  1948 Jacques Fath Gown.  I also love that she documented the event of wearing this gown and people's reactions.  

Here also is a podcast on the event.  Just lovely.  A must listen.

Images via V&A.

A rare look at  other Jacques Fath gowns in color via Pinterest.

I know this is also unrelated but for you vintage seamstresses, I also came across this wonderful link to make a 50s dress from the exhibition that was at V&A.  So interesting!

Jacques Fath - Couture Marvel (Image Heavy)

Where to begin with Jacques Fath?   He was a sublime artist and above all followed his inspirational dreams.  You can very much see and feel his passion for the art of design in his pieces.   As Marlene Dietrich declared "A genius of fashion".   His untimely death is really what has left him under the radar.   But, this is relative too because when his creations do come up for auction, they can certainly command premiums inline with the other couture giants.

L'Officiel Magazine

I am very thrilled to report that I have acquired a Jacques Fath suit.  It is not a couture suit with a made in France label.   However, this suit still has historical significance to me and is still quite rare to find.  I really wanted to spend time researching more about his life and understanding some of his design elements so this is why I wanted to split out my blog entries into two posts.  This post explores who Jacques Fath was and some of his wondrous creations.  In my next post, I'll share images of the grand suit I acquired.


 There are books and books on Dior but I was only able to locate one book dedicated to Jacques Fath (Jacques Fath by Savignon).  There maybe other books out in foreign markets.  There was a documentary made on his life called "Les Folies Des Fath".   I'd love to see this but I'm unable to see any copies floating about.


Jacques Fath was born in 1912 and died in 1954.  He began his career as a bookkeeper, mainly to please his father, but eventually (fate driven)  followed his true passion into fashion.  Fath was drafted into the French Army in 1939 and was taken prisoner by German forces in 1940.   After Paris was liberated in 1944, he set up shop again.  His first collection appeared in 1937, when he was 25 years old.  He was a self taught designer.   Givenchy was a Fath assistant in 1945.  At his height, he employed over 600 people.  He treated the people around him with kindness and was a friend to a lot of  his employees.  Over 4,000 people attended his funeral.  After Fath died, the company continued on for a few years but eventually just produced perfumes, gloves, hosiery, and other accessories.   The company was relaunched again in 1992 and this is why you will see the label in today's fashion world.


He is considered one of the three top French post-war haute couture influences along side Christian Dior and Pierre Balmain.  He was just beginning to take America by storm when he died of leukemia  at the age of 42.  You can scarcely get through the pages of Vogue and Bazaar in the early 50s without seeing the wonders of Jacques Fath glamour.

In 1948, Fath secured a deal with Joseph Halpert to bring ready-to-wear collections to the US market.  He also entered into another agreement with Schindelheim-Lupia (for US market).  There is little I can find with this design arrangement.  They were a husband and wife team based out of New York.   He really was working a lot on expansion ideas before his untimely death.


Jacques Fath was married to his muse and model Genevieve Boucher, who also kept the company going for a couple years after his death.  It is difficult to find information on Genevieve.  They also had a son.  A very beautiful lady.




-Jacques Fath and his wife Genevieve.


"Fath! His name evoked visions of faille, of silk, of an enchanted mix of all the sequins and hopes of the 1950s.  Jacques Fath!"  What made him unique was that the man "was as alluring as his collection." - Savignon

Photograph by Nina Lee (Fath's wife) New York 1948 Source

"If Dior and Balenciaga were known for the architectural beauty of their designs, Fath's style was praised for its glamour and vivacity.  He often used diagonal lines, asymmetrical drapery, and floating panels to give a sense of movement."  - Fashion Encyclopedia


"The connection between the man and his art was seamless; the designer was both the essence and the creation.  Together, Fath and his dresses trumpeted a groundbreaking manifesto of modernity and true glamour-dazzling, provocative, and intrinsically Parisian." - Savignon

Source My Vintage Vogue

Jacques Fath Gown Source

Jacques Fath 1948/1950

Jacques Fath day suit 1950's, Made In France label, sold for $3,883 in 2003

Jacques Fath image via Couture Allure

Jacques Fath Dress 1954

Famous photograph by Walde Huth, Jacques Fath

"Shortly before his premature death at the age of 42, Fath- to the snobbish horror of many in the haute couture establishment - began offering affordable chic to Parisian women, too" -Voguepedia

KerryTaylorAuctions.com Jacques Fath

Images below from L'Officiel magazines from 1950-1955:

YouTube video of Jacques Fath creations from 1954:

Jacques Fath 1955

                                             

Jacques Fath 1954, really interesting with polka dot stockings and a funny sunglass hat.

http://www.britishpathe.com/video/paris-fashion-a-la-fath/query/jacques+fath

Have you overdosed on glamour yet?

                                          

Jacques Fath 1956 (color) just awesome!  For some odd reason, I couldn't get the link up through Blogger.  But, it is certainly worth the look to see Jacques Fath in color as it was.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhyPUh0qhAQ

Jacques Fath

I'm sure I am not the only one who is fascinated when an actual vintage garment is linked to its fashion ad counterpart.  Below is another match.   You will see the history of matches on the side labeled "Vintage Ad" or check above in the tab.  If any of you are in knowledge of or have a lead for an actual to fashion ad dress, outfit, accessory, etc.   I'd love to hear from you. 

Jacques Fath dresses certainly have the couture feel.  I'd like to do a future post on this master of fashion.

The Ad:
Jacques Fath Couture Dress
*featured in Harper's Bazaar,  March 1954
      This dress cost $425 in 1954 making it $3,565 in today's dollars.

Description of dress:
"Fragile tracery of imported lace and velvet.  From the Joseph Halpert collection designed in America by Jacques Fath.  $425"

Please see this link for a brief bio on Jacques Fath.  Jacques Fath died young at 42 years old in 1954.  So, could this have been have been apart of his last collection he designed?

The Match:

This dress is not an exact match as the underlay is silk organza but certainly is close in appearance.

Photographs property of and given permission to use Shrimpton Couture.  I invite you to visit their website:

Shrimpton Couture

This is such a fabulous dress and thanks to Shrimpton Couture they took some marvelous detailed shots of the couture dress.  Unfortunately, ladies this dress has sold but you can still take a peek at the grandness here:

Images Copyright Shrimpton Couture not to be used without express permission.

Images Copyright Shrimpton Couture not to be used without express permission.

Images copyright Shrimpton Couture not to be used without express permission.

Images Copyright Shrimpton Couture not to be used without express permission.

Images Copyright Shrimpton Couture not to be used without express permission.

Images Copyright Shrimpton Couture not to be used without express permission.

Description from Shrimpton Couture:

"It is hand made lace on a fine netting all done to create beautiful, feminine flowers. The lace lies over layers of nude silk organza. The skirt is full and I have styled it over a light crinoline so you can see the fullness through the skirt (crinoline not included) The bodice has a pretty silk edging in a sweetheart bust line."

"The dress is fully lined though the skirt in two layers of silk organza in a nude color and then it has an inner layer of silk in cream. The bodice has a self lining of nude silk organza and a built in cream colored bodice. It closes with a side painted metal zipper. It comes with its original belt and the belt is in excellent condition."

Harper's Bazaar March 1954

I acquired a small stack of Harper's Bazaar magazines.  They are in pretty rough shape and so it is nice and easy to scan them without worrying about the magazine.  I got them for about $5 a piece and some issues have pages missing but it is so awesome to take a look through these magazines.

Today,  I am going to showcase Harper's Bazaar March 1954.  In this issue is a small article about Chanel coming back after her war hiatus very interesting.

I just love the Givenchy or Balenciaga polka dot gowns.  One of these would be my dream dress.  I'll gladly take either one.  How impressive are they?

 Here are a select few images from the magazine...

Balenciaga Chiffon Polka Dot Gown 1954:

Givenchy Polka Dot Taffeta Dress  1954:

...total Audrey Hepburn

Cover Image  Harper's Bazaar March 1954:

As you can see quite beat up but it makes scanning easier:)

Coco Chanel article and image discussing her comeback, very historical:

I put the article at a large size so that it easier to read.

Mollie Parnis 1954 designed gown (I think this is Dovima modeling):

This dress by Jacques Fath cost $425 in 1954 this would make it $3,565 today!:

Various other images:

Great artistic modeling pose, total 1950's:

Hattie Carnegie 1954 dress: