Heralding in The Jet Age

A while ago I wrote about Braniff’s corporate makeover in the late 1960’s with particular emphasis on their Love Field terminal in Dallas that changed the drab way America was flying in the late 1960’s.

Pan Am’s new terminal at JFK in the 1960’s was at the forefront of modern terminal design and heralded in the Jet Age with appropriate savoir faire. The terminal was built as a showcase for international jet travel and became part of a larger campaign to present Pan Am as the most sophisticated and technological progressive airline in the world. Up until 1971 the terminal was know simply as the Pan Am terminal, however after 1971 was renamed “Pan Am Worldport”


The terminal was constructed in 1960 by Pan Am and designed by Ives, Turano & Gardner Associated Architects and Walter Prokosch of Tippets-Abbett-McCarthy-Stratton. The most notable feature of the terminal was the large elliptical “flying saucer” roof which gave the impression that it was floating in air, and providing a cover for crystallized passenger spaces below.

Another feature of the terminal was the large overhanging roof that used a design feature of Templehopf Airport Berlin (built in 1936) that allowed aircraft to be parked partially covered under the roof, thus protecting passengers from the elements as they boarded their aircraft. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Guide to New York City called the terminal a "genuine architectural attempt to answer the problem of all-weather connections to the planes" but derided the overall concept as "compromised by an overabundance of distracting detail."

Another stunning feature of the terminal was a 200-foot long and 24-foot high windscreen in front of the terminal's entrance which was adorned with bas relief representations of the 12 signs of the zodiac, created by Milton Hebald, visible from both outside and inside the terminal building. When it was created, it was the largest such work in the world. As part of renovations, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey removed the sculptures, which now sit unused in a hangar at the airport.

Sadly with Pan Am’s demise the terminal was taken over by Delta, and subsequent renovations and expansion have left it virtually unrecognisable.

Lacroix Savoir Faire

With some homage to the late great Balenciaga, Christian Lacroix presented his latest Haute Couture collection in Paris this week. Poor Lacroix has been dodged with financial woes with his house teetering on the edge of bankruptcy several times over the last couple of years.


I have always had a soft spot for Lacroix. He is a genius with colour, textures and fabric, creating bold and eclectic creations, which have instant luxe.

The wonderful “sack” like dresses below, pay homage to Balenciaga in their simplicity and their cut, being rather sombre for Lacroix. Instantly wearable, they don’t need a lot of accessorising, as they rely on their form to carry them through. And the hats! If that isn’t in homage to the Balenciaga style of the fifties, I don’t know what is!


The backless evening dress is just stunning! Again relying on the lack of usual Lacroix trademarks to carry it through. The added bright red bow at the side oozes instant paired down glamour!

The tulle and sequined cocktail dress, draws on past couture of the fifties and updates it with a little more flesh for instant sex appeal, again the hat! Love it.

Savoir Fath!

Fashion is such a fickle thing, especially in the world of couture. One day you are in and riding the crest of raging sales, and increased awareness of your label, the next day you are out, due to falling sales, only to fall into obscurity. This doesn’t reflect on your talent as a designer, but basically how good the marketing is behind you and the size of the bankroll your backers are prepared to put up. Then if you die, well most of the time that is it, your house might continue for a few seasons, only to quietly close and your name regulated to a bottle of perfume or an entry on Wikipedia. There have been some genius’ who while they were alive influenced fashion more than what we are aware of today, that have died and their names have passed into obscurity, such as Madame Gres, Madeleine Vionnet and Jacques Fath.

Fath, a contemporary of Dior, Balenciaga and Balmain, did a lot more for couture in the 1950’s than what we are aware of, only to die in 1954 of leukemia. He was a genius to rival Dior and dressed similar clients, in glamour that dripped in savoir faire. Some of the young designers he had hired for his house went on to greater things on their own, such as Laroche, Givenchy and Valentino. Fath was a popular and innovative designer who was known for dressing “the chic young Parisienne”

If Dior and Balenciaga were the architects of fashion, Fath was couture’s star of glamour and vivacity. Long before the word sexy came to describe fashion; Fath’s clothes were sexy, emphasising narrow waists, curvaceous bosoms and hips.

Fath was increasingly regarded as the "heir apparent to Dior's throne." As Life Magazine said in 1949: "Dior is still generally acknowledged to be the head man, so to speak, of the fashion world, but Fath has recently had a spectacular rise in prestige, and it now seems likely that the next look to confront and impoverish the U.S. male will be the Fath look." Carmel Snow, editor of Harper's Bazaar, revised her earlier opinion of Fath, declaring, "He makes you look like you have sex appeal—and believe me, that's important."

The man himself had infinite personal appeal, with an impish quality, and was very much a social personality, throwing lavish parties with his wife, which had the added boost of much needed publicity. "An atmosphere of glitter, chic, and perfumed excitement permeates both his personal and business affairs," observed Life magazine in October 1949. Yet behind the scenes, Fath was struggling with illness. Only a year before his death in 1954, the American press had hailed him as the "fabulous young French designer who…is out to make every woman look like a great beauty." This promise was tragically cut short; Fath died of leukemia at the age of 42.

Of course with any old name these days there have been several attempts at a relaunch, however these have not come to much.
Fath himself was less than generous towards the female gender as a whole. He had notably declared, “Women are bad fashion designers. The only role a woman should have in fashion is wearing clothes,” and “Fashion is an art and men are the artists.”

Helena Rubinstein & David Hicks, a Match Made in Heaven

What would a blog about savoir faire be without the meeting of two of my most favourite style icons? Helena Rubinstein, one who had enough savoir faire for 10 of us and David Hicks, interior designer extraordinaire who showed us what living with savoir faire was all about. So put these two together and what do you have? A match made in heaven whose offspring showcased how brilliant each was. Both were headstrong and had their own ideas on how things should be accomplished.

David Hicks has been considered to be at the forefront of interior designers in the 20th century. However after his marriage in 1960 to Lord Mountbatten’s daughter his career was on the wane. However fortunes changed with a commission from Madame Rubinstein to decorate her new Knightsbridge apartment in London. The result showed that Hicks was at the top of his game and put him back in the limelight. Most major newspapers and magazines ran features of the result, unleashing on an unsuspecting public a masterpiece of bold colour schemes and savoir faire. Hicks managed to incorporate Madame’s compulsive acquisition of objects and art into an intelligent mix of old and new. Vitrines inset into silk coloured walls held Madame’s collections. Radiators were covered in gold mesh that looked like Faberge. Old Portuguese carved wooden doors were used as bedheads, and Victorian furniture was painted white and recoverd in daring colours.

With true savoir faire when Hicks inquired as to what colour she would like the walls of her new drawing room painted, she called for a pair of scissors and proceeded to cut a swatch of purple silk from the lining of the Balenciaga she was wearing. And like a true gentleman, Mr Hicks carried out her wishes, the result being a pink, scarlet and magenta room that Hicks referred to as “one of the most dramatic, and daring colour schemes I have ever assembled”. I don’t have any photos of the finished result, however below are two examples of what the end product would have been like.

Decorating Savoir Faire

Shabby Chic. MMmm, a movement of interior decoration that conjures to mind lots of frills, flounces, white distressed furniture, and increasingly feminine schemes. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but it can reach overkill very quickly. However just a few of the right pieces in the right setting and you can create interiors that are both eclectic, and stunning at the same time. I say buy the furniture then accessorise with things that are not necessarily in the shabby chic vein.

Here are some of the pieces I have already or are coveting. I have also teemed some design classics which are poles away from the ‘shabby chic’ style such as the Wassily Chairs and the cowhide rug with the glass fronted cabinet. To look at each piece individually they are in totally different design ranges, but together they seem to work.

I am currently coveting the two chairs below and am just looking for ways to make them work with what I already have. The obelisks currently sit on a cream lacquered Chinese sideboard, and I am looking for the perfect piece of art to hang in between them.

So whatever your decorating style is, have fun with it and mix and match for some savoir faire.

Some Friday Savoir Faire

If you were jetting of for a sun filled weekend in the 1960’s there was no better place to jet off to than the Hotel St Georges in Beirut. Home away from home for the rich and famous, also home to the best bikinis on the Mediterranean, this was the place to be. So sit back and enjoy the sun, sea and savoir faire!

Savoir Faire Without the Corset

What can you say about a man who had such a sway over fashion and style that he liberated women from the corset of the 19th Century only to shackle their legs with the hobble skirt in the 20th? C’est Magnifique! He styled himself as the “King of Fashion” and practically dictated style before World War 1, only to die poverty stricken and in obscurity on 1944. He was influenced by many and in turn was the source of inspiration for other designers such as Schiaparelli who had closets full of his clothes.
Paul Poiret born in 1879 went on to become the driving force behind Parisian fashion in the early 20th Century. He trained with Jacques Doucet (another arbiter of savoir faire and style) and then left there for Worth (the doyenne of the haute mode), finally opening on his own in 1903. Throwing all the rules out the window of his Rue Arbor premises, he freed women from the restraints of the corset creating directoire style dresses with brilliant uses of colour, fabric and texture. Inspired by Leon Bakst and the Ballets Russe, Poiret’s style was a riot of orientalism and exoticism. Nothing was left untried. His sense of colour and texture were unrivalled, and the exotic was hunted out to try and then be unleashed on an unsuspecting public. Although appearing extremely complicated and extravagant the cut was on the other hand extremely simple, with dresses created from rectangles of fabric being draped on the body.

From abolishing the corset he went further with hobble skirts, "harem" pantaloons, and "lampshade" tunics, using the fabulous soirées he threw in his garden to promote such whimsies. His most famous soirée was The Thousand and Second Night party he threw in 1911 with himself playing the part of a sultan with his wife Denise dressed in a tunic dress playing his favourite slave girl. Apperntly she was carried into the party encased in a gilded cage, and then set free by her husband. In cases in which guests attended improperly attired, they were requested to either outfit themselves in some of Poiret's 'Persian' outfits, or leave.

His wife played a major part in his success, by being his muse, and modelling his creations.

Poiret’s aim was not only to influence fashion! He wanted to tell you how to live! Poiret's house expanded to encompass furniture, decor, and fragrance in addition to clothing. In 1911, he established the company Parfums de Rosine, named for his eldest daughter. Poiret's name was never linked to the company, but it was effectively the first fragrance launched by a designer.

He launched the Ecole Martine, named for his second daughter, to provide artistically inclined, working-class girls with trade skills and income. Martine provided furniture, wallpapers, rugs and every other decorating item for the complete Poiret look.

Unfortunately post war Europe and the public were not akin or sympathetic to Poiret’s style. New designers like Chanel (curse her) sounded the death knell for this fertile mind. Chanel designed smart functional clothes which women preferred. Poiret referred to her style as “poverty deluxe”. Legend has it that Chanel, dressed in black, once met Poiret and he asked: “Madame, for whom do you mourn?” She replied: “Why monsieur, I mourn for you!”

Poiret was out of fashion, in debt, and lacking support from his business partners, and he soon left his fashion house. In 1929, the house itself was closed, and its leftover clothes were sold by the kilogram as rags. When Poiret died in 1944, his genius had been forgotten. Luckily through a recent exhibition in New York we had the good fortune of looking upon a lost and forgotten empire.

As a footnote, one of my most prized possessions is a first edition copy of one his auto biographical works, “My First 50 Years”.