Video: How favorite couturiers Sarah Bernhardt and Isadora Duncan became the patron saint of avant-garde artists: Jacques Doucet
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
The name of Jacques Doucet has been heard by everyone who is interested in fashion. It was he, the first among Parisian couturiers, who fostered a whole galaxy of outstanding fashion designers, he also acquired Pablo Picasso's masterpiece "The Maidens of Avignon" and collected an impressive collection of art objects - from Rococo to modernism. However, the work of Doucet himself is rarely remembered - and in fact, both aristocrats and Parisian bohemia admired the luxurious outfits of the House of Doucet at the end of the 19th century …
Jacques Doucet was born in Paris, in 1853, into a large and friendly family that was not the first generation in business. Jacques' grandfather ran a shop in a prestigious area of Paris. He traded in lace, outfits, linen - in general, "everything that the damsel needs." And the charmer too - Duse's store became famous not so much for its women's "tricks" as for its superiority in the trade of men's underwear. Snow-white, perfectly tailored shirts with delicate trimmings became legendary, representatives of aristocratic families regularly stopped by Doucet Lingerie for another impeccable shirt. There was a laundry near the store, which belonged to the same old man Douce. Jacques' father - Edouard - inherited and expanded the business. And young Jacques himself … was not at all going to be a seller of ribbons and shoes! He adored art, dreamed of a career as an artist, but already at the age of twenty he was forced to head the ladies' dress department in the same family store. In 1871, Doucet decided to combine art and fashion - he opened his own fashion house.
He did not have to blaze the trail again - the House of Doucet was built on a solid foundation. The Doucet Lingerie store has been famous since 1816 - not only for its impressive and varied assortment, but also for the ingenuity of its owners. So no one was surprised when luxurious evening dresses appeared in Doucet Lingerie. And they were great …
Doucet turned from a shopkeeper into a couturier. He did not follow fashion - he created it. He created the very image of a woman of the "beautiful era", which is unmistakably recognizable today. A big fan of the Rococo art, obsessed with Watteau and Fragonard, Doucet combined contemporary silhouettes with details inspired by their canvases. Intricate embroidery, layering of light fabrics of pastel shades, noble satin shine … The outfits of the House of Doucet turned every woman into a rocaille nymph.
He was adored by the stage stars - Cecile Sorel, Sarah Bernhardt, Isadora Duncan … He created outfits for the theater and for evening outings, and famous actresses changed their outfits "from Doucet" from morning to evening. Despite the high cost and long production times, Doucet's creations were a huge success. True, young emancipated women of fashion remained indifferent to him - but older women were delighted with quivering frills, nostalgic silhouettes and kilometers of precious lace …
However, Doucet did not shy away from everyday clothes. He is considered, if not the creator, then an active popularizer of the women's suit - a skirt and jacket made of dense fabric that keeps its shape well.
It was in the fashion house of Doucet that the future stars of Parisian fashion - Paul Poiret and Madeleine Vionnet - began their creative journey. Today everyone knows about them - and the name of their teacher is almost forgotten.
Despite the success of the enterprise and the huge annual turnover, the designer's love for art did not leave. At the beginning of his career, he began to acquire furniture, paintings, sculptures of his favorite era - the 18th century with its illusory and theatricality, pearlescent shades, gallant scenes and the finest porcelain … Doucet also collected costumes of that time - he drew inspiration from them for new masterpieces.
But in 1912, an unexpected change occurred in his perception of art. He sold all of his - pretty impressive! - a collection of antiques and became interested in the art of modernism. Surprisingly, the angular and aggressive style of Pablo Picasso, the wild color and pretended slovenliness of Matisse won the heart of the "lord of lace and frill". He said: "The drawings, which will include the collection, should, in their totality, give an idea of major trends in art, and their details explain the origin of the works of artists and changes in the spirit of the latter." He was interested in the thinking of avant-garde artists, so different from his own, their view of the world, what allows them to create their own style. The works of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec were especially widely represented in his collection - Doucet is one of the largest collectors of his prints. He collected the works of the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists, publications of contemporary writers … In those same years, he had an unusual idea - to create a "Library of Art and Archeology". In this exposition, he dreamed of demonstrating the main stages in the development of the culture of mankind. Doucet consulted with historians, travelers and Dadaist painters, avant-garde poets and archaeologists …
In the 20s, the popularity of the fashion designer gradually faded away - after the First World War, luxury and splendor were no longer in honor. These difficult years destroyed many fashion houses - Doucet's student, the brilliant Paul Poiret, never returned to its former brilliance. But Doucet was rich. And now he is completely focused on supporting artists, organizing exhibitions and collecting. In 1928, he teamed up with a fashion designer by the name of Doye, whose fashion house was also going through hard times, but it was not possible to retain a clientele. After the death of both designers in 1929, the united fashion house was for some time under the supervision of the French financier Georges Aubet, but after a few years was closed. Doucet, who had no heirs, bequeathed his richest collection of French art to the University of Paris. In honor of the couturier, the university library was named, part of which is made up of rare editions from his collection - it still retains this name. A frustrated artist and forgotten couturier, Jacques Doucet made an invaluable contribution to the development of fashion and art.
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