Jean Patou
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| Jean Patou | |
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M. Jean Patou.
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| Born | August 19, 1880 Caen, France |
| Died | March 8, 1936 (aged 48) Paris, France |
| Nationality | French |
| Labels | Jean Patou |
Jean Patou (August 19, 1880 - March 8, 1936) was a French fashion designer.
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[edit] Early life
Patou was born in Normandy, France in 1880. Patou's family's family business was in tanning and furs. Patou worked with his uncle in Normandy, then moved to Paris in 1910, intent on becoming a couturier.
[edit] 1910s - World War I and later
In 1912 he opened a small dressmaking salon called "Maison Parry". His entire 1914 collection was purchased by a one single American buyer.[1].Patou's work as was interrupted by World War I. He was mobilised in August 1914, shorty after the German invasion of Belgium. Patou served as a Captain in the Zouaves [2] Reopening his couture house in 1919, he became known for eradicating the flapper look by lengthening the skirt and returning introducing sportswear for women, and is considered the inventor of the knitted swimwear and the tennis skirt. He notably designed the then daring sleeveless and thigh-length cut tennis wear for Suzanne Lenglen.[citation needed] He also was the first designer to popularize the cardigan, and moved fashion towards the natural and comfortable.[citation needed]
[edit] 1920s
Jean Patou invented the designer tie in the 1920s. He used women's dress material for his ties and they were displayed in department stores next to women's perfume counters.[citation needed] The designer tie style is still prominent amongst contemporary fashion designers, such as Louis Feraud, Timothy Everest, Duchamp and Paul Smith
[edit] 1930s
Patou's clothes were marketed mostly to wealthy American women.[citation needed] When the stock market crashed, however, so did the market for luxury fashion. The House of Patou survived through its perfumes, which remain well known today.[who?] The best known of Patou's perfumes is "Joy," a floral scent;[who?] another is "Sublime," which combines floral and musky tones. The world's second best-selling scent (the first is Chanel No. 5), Joy was created by Henri Alméras for Patou at the height of the Great Depression (1935) for Patou's former clients who could no longer afford his haute couture clothes.
[edit] Legacy
Patou died in 1936. His sister Madeleine and her husband Raymond Barbas continued the House of Patou, which remained a family-owned enterprise until September 2001 when it was bought by Procter & Gamble Company. Other designers to have been associated with this house are Jean Kerléo and Karl Lagerfeld.
