Fashion History

Paul Poiret was the party boy of Paris who is the unsung hero of 20th century fashion. In the first instalment in BoF’s fashion history series, we learn that Poiret dressed Paris’ finest before World War I, but as the years went on, his inability to adapt to '20s modernity led to the collapse of his company.

In the second instalment of BoF’s fashion history series, we study the life of Jeanne Lanvin, the milliner turned mogul who outlived the competition. She built the longest-running fashion house in the world on cloche hats, feminine clothes and a fragrance which is still around to this day.

Madeleine Vionnet built an empire by rejecting corsets and buttons in favour of the bias cut. In the third instalment of BoF’s fashion history series, we find out that, at its peak, Vionnet had 26 ateliers and employed 1,000 staff, but the couturier preferred the privacy of her study to meeting clients or running a business.

In the fourth instalment of BoF’s fashion history series, we meet the creator of the ‘little black dress,’ who took her cues from a country in mourning. Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel, the designer doyenne who founded fashion’s most famous house, used her lovers’ money to establish herself and rewrote the rulebook with her mannish collections.

In the fifth instalment of BoF’s fashion history series, we study the life of Chanel’s arch enemy, who flirted with surrealism and brought shock factor into fashion. Elsa Schiaparelli shot to fame by mixing in Parisian society’s right circles which took her all the way to Hollywood where she dressed Greta Garbo and Mae West.

Cristóbal Balenciaga went from seamstress’s son to designer’s designer. In the sixth instalment of BoF’s fashion history series, we learn that the Basque couturier was self-taught and never sketched a single garment. So how did this recluse who preferred his religion to charming the press end up as such a key influence of 20th century fashion?

In the seventh instalment of BoF’s fashion history series, meet the late bloomer who invented the ‘New Look.’ It took Christian Dior four decades to put on a show but the gallerist turned designer won over Paris from the word go.

In the eighth instalment of BoF’s fashion history series, we study the life of the moderniser who fought to overcome his demons. French designer Yves Saint Laurent shot to fame at 21 at the helm of Dior, before going it alone. But it was only by turning his back on the French house and embracing ready to wear that he made a lasting impact.