Today’s post is somehow related to yesterday’s since it focuses on fashion and puppet-like inanimate dolls.
Yet it’s also linked to an earlier post about the 1945 exhibit Théâtre de la Mode that was showcased in Paris as a result of a collaboration between the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne and Entraide Française, a war relief organisation.
The two organisations joined forces at the time to raise funds for the charity and showcase at the same time the work of famous Parisian couturiers.
Not many people remember it, but there was a very similar event organised in Paris in January 1963.
The organiser of this event was Gisèle d’Assailly, a descendant of Lafayette, and a journalist, author of fairy tales and fashion and lifestyle manuals and director (after the death of her husband Renè Julliard) of one of the most important Parisian publishing houses, Éditions Julliard.
D’Assailly asked the most famous Parisian couturiers, jewellery designers, fur makers and hairdressers to come up with unique creations for a series of 80 cm-tall dolls that were later auctioned for charity.
Yet what started as a charity event soon became a proper and wider exhibition: international designers joined in developing outstanding creations, perfect miniature versions of their most exclusive Haute Couture or prêt-à-porter designs.
In the end the event was coordinated by a group of volunteering ladies helped by various ambassadors representing 68 different countries.
Each country sent to Paris an exclusively made doll that called to mind a national icon of style or a doll wearing a design that somehow represented that specific country’s traditions, style and taste.
America was represented for example by a doll that looked like Jacqueline Kennedy; Belgium went for a Princess Fabiola doll in a poetic wedding dress while a Farah Diba doll accessorised with jewels worth millions of francs looked like a perfect vision out of the One Thousand and One Nights and represented Persia.
Other countries emphasised their traditions through specific accessories: a Japanese geisha doll was auctioned for example with an entire tea set, while Austria showcased a doll dressed like Mozart.
Most designers enjoyed the event because the project allowed them to recreate miniature copies of their best designs or to design entirely new and rather extravagant creations.
Roberto Capucci was particularly enthusiastic about the project and created for the occasion a summery silk evening gown in a bright orange flowery print that integrated a cape; Simonetta and Fabiani went for a long gown in a heavy goffre silk in a floral print, decorated with emerald and diamond jewels.
Madeleine de Rauch came up with a houndstooth skirt suit matched with a fox fur trapper hat while Carven opted for an evening dress with a crinoline silk decorated with silk yarns that formed delicate floral patterns.
Other interesting creations included Claude Riviere's, that reinterpreted the classic dark satin suit skirt matched with a turban mainly worn at elegant lunches or for trips to the opera and Lanvin's. The latter was an evening gown with a bolero jacket in silk mikado and sleeves edged with white mink fur.
Furriers Henri Stern and Leon Vissot added to the designers' exclusive creations a ermine sole and a honey coloured mink coat.
Most designers used in most cases luxurious materials for their creations: there were indeed also silk taffetas dresses with double butterfly shaped ruches on the back; breitschwanz coats; reindeer leather golf uniforms matched with printed silk twill hats; tweed skirt suits; lace tiered dresses; tiny red skirt suits with beaver fur muffs and a turquoise dress with an asymmetrical matching woollen cape with a polka dot silk lining.
The 100 dolls were accessorised with Van Cleef and Arpels’ bracelets worn as necklaces, Cartier’s earrings used as brooches and pendants and Boucheron’s necklaces integrated in the different looks as belts.
Hairdresser Alexandre created some of the hairstyles, but his rivals the Carita sisters symbolically won the prize for the most original design with a dress entirely made with black hair, accessorising it with a bag and shoes entirely covered in the same material (anticipating of roughly 50 years human hair dresses like Sandra Backlund’s or Charlie Le Mindu’s more extravagant creations).
We have seen many events revolving around fashion and Barbie dolls in the last few years, but we still haven’t seen anything like this reinterpretation of the original Théâtre de la Mode exhibition.
I would really love it if Gisèle d’Assailly’s event could be relaunched one day and also extended to more countries and then getting the dolls auctioned for a charitable cause.
Taking fashion on a global tour and making sure it could help people as well would indeed be much better than just seeing the umpteenth catwalk show or another endless celebration of Barbie dolls dressed by famous designers.
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