Despite promising to write more about René Gruau (1909-2004) in previous posts here and there, in between one thing and the other I never managed to do a proper piece dedicated to this illustrator who created some of the most wonderful fashion images of the 20th century.
In November an exhibition at London’s Somerset House will showcase his work for Christian Dior via illustrations for Dior’s perfumes, sketches, magazines, perfume bottles and even a selection of Dior Haute Couture dresses.
This means I will have a few months to reintroduce you to the wonderful art and style of Gruau.
So let’s not waste any time and start from today with a post that has some connections with Gruau and it's mainly dedicated to accessory design students and fashionistas who are into DIY.
Renato Zavagli Ricciarelli delle Caminate - better known as René Gruau - was born in Rimini and lived between Milan, Paris and Rome.
In Milan he became a friend of dressmaker Marta Palmer and also met her business and life partner, milliner Eva (one day I'll dedicate them a post, promise!).
Gruau used to love visiting Palmer’s atelier in Corso Vittorio Emanuele that had large shop windows with two arcades, a big gilt salon with black wall-to-wall carpeting and a ceiling decorated with a stained glass snake.
At the time he worked for magazines such as Lidel, Eva, Dea, Donna, Sovrana and Fortuna, mainly focusing on fashion illustrations and interior design, but also writing short stories.
When he moved to Paris, Gruau started working for Marianne, Le Figaro, Vogue and La vie parisienne, and, in 1937, he began collaborating also with Fémina, a job that gave him the chance to work with the most prestigious Parisian fashion houses, such as Patou, Lanvin, Lelong, Worth, Rochas, Schiaparelli and Balenciaga.
In Paris, Dior became one of his closest friends and Gruau created for the fashion house some of the most iconic ads in the history of fashion.
The self-taught artist had a very elegant style and a true talent for drawing absolutely gorgeous and sensual women.
Art, culture, fashion and style mixed in Gruau’s work and his illustrations still influence the house of Dior.
The white dress with a swirl of reddish pink fabric that formed a rose matched with an art palette-shaped headdress by Stephen Jones featured in Dior’s Autumn/Winter 2007-2008 haute couture collection was indeed entitled “Gruau”, while the garden of delights headdresses that transformed models into flowers at Dior's catwalk show for the house's Autumn/Winter 2010 haute couture collection, seemed somehow borrowed from Gruau's ads for the Diorissimo perfume.
Though his name was well established in Paris, Gruau continued to work for Italian magazines, publishing under the name Renato as the policy of Italianisation imposed by the regime required.
I’m enclosing in this post a page from Dea (Issue n. 5, 15th May 1936) that features a section entitled "Complementi Pratici" (Practical Complements).
The article includes a few suggestions on how to renew an old dress with an oval double face collar (Fig. 1), a simple scarf with a single button that, the author suggests, could be made using two fabrics in contrasting colours, such as yellow and green or yellow and blue (Fig. 2), a taffeta or rayon cropped cape with two little buttons (Fig. 3) and a pointy collar with a matching belt in cardinal red or emerald green (Fig. 5).
My favourite piece is the one portrayed in picture n. 4, a flamboyant butterfly-shaped scarf made using two large asymmetrically cut ribbons stitched together.
So while we wait for the names of the six UK-based illustrators who will feature in the Somerset House exhibition with commissioned pieces inspired from the collaboration between Gruau and the House of Dior, let’s try to recreate some versatile accessories from the mid-30s like the ones illustrated by Gruau in this page.
PS If you’re on holiday in Italy, don’t forget to go to Rimini, Gruau’s hometown, as the local museum - the Museo della Città di Rimini - includes a section dedicated to him on the second floor where you can find further inspirations for your creations, fashion illustrations and advertising campaigns as well.
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