Triumph and Tragedy in Couture: The Story of Paul Poiret as Told by Vogue
Photo: Paul Thompson / FPG / Getty Images
A Poiret-inspired dress by Christian Lacroix couture, 2007.
Photographed by Steven Meisel, Vogue, May 2007
We're hot with anticipation for the debut of Glenn Martens at Maison Margiela, as well as Demna's swansong collection for Balenciaga. But what makes the fall 2025 couture season truly extraordinary is the way past and present are colliding. Presiding over this changing of the guard and tipping point for the métier are Charles Frederick Worth and Paul Poiret, subjects of exhibitions at the Petit Palais and Le Musée des Arts Décoratifs, respectively. Worth, an Englishman, who established his house in 1858, and dressed the Empress Eugénie, is considered to be the first couturier. Parisian Poiret, who hung out his shingle in 1930, was deemed the first modernist couturier, and, argues Mary E. Davis in a forthcoming book, the inventor of 'modern luxury.'
Many firsts can indeed be attributed to the designer. A marketing genius, Poiret toured Europe with models, anticipating the trunk show. He commissioned artists to produce limited edition portfolios of his work, and he used his headquarters for community building, hosting shows and parties that created spectacle and a sense of occasion about his work. In 1915 Vogue went so far as to suggest that 'Poiret was first to dramatize the showing of a new dress collection.' He was early into beauty, establishing a fragrance business, Rosine, in 1911, the same year he introduced what we would call a 'lifestyle' aspect to his projects with the creation of Martine, a decorative arts studio. Vogue reacted to the latter development thus: 'Certainly couturiers have never before insisted that chairs, curtains, rugs, and wall-coverings should be considered in the choosing of a dress, or rather that the style of the dress should influence the interior decorations of a home. Such, however, now appears to be the case.'
Poiret's end goal wasn't necessarily to do things couturiers had never done before; rather his creativity was as expansive as his personality was big. His vision was total to the point of being absolutist. Because this was so Poiret's story is one of triumph and tragedy; he soared to heights never before reached and finally fell into obscurity. Still 'Poiretesque,' a favorite descriptor conjures sumptuous colors and textures mixed with jewels and fantasy and the picturesque.
Known as 'Le Magnifique' or the King of Fashion, Poiret was enmeshed in the waves of changes that were happening in pre-war Europe at the birth of Modernism. Like a sponge, he intuited and absorbed these shifts; and like an octopus he had tentacles in many pots. Poiret designed costumes, interiors, and textiles; he was involved in education (through Martine), gastronomy, publishing, art, theater, and entertaining. That he was nothing less than a force of nature was confirmed by one J M Giddings who, in 1913, told The New York Times that 'Poiret is to be reckoned with every moment of the time. His vitality is endless; it would take two or three lives to use it up.'#
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