Thursday, October 7, 2010

Mad about the Girls

All too often in the world of Haute Couture names come and go. Some are revered as gods to the craft while others sink into oblivion only to come alive in museum retrospectives or on blogs like mine.

Mad Carpentier is one such name. The brainchild of two of Vionnet’s employees (who was talking of retirement in 1939) the house was created in 1940 by Mad Maltezos and Suzie Carpentier. With the advent of war and the subsequent occupation, this was extremely risky. However, with the void that was left with Vionnet’s closing, the business prospered.


These two women represented the continual evolution of Vionnet’s style and ensured its survival. Through the war years there was a certain mystique of these women as Mary Brooks Picken and Dora Loues Miller, authors of Dressmakers of France: The Who, How, and Why of the French Couture (New York, 1956) passionately enthused, "When it was almost impossible to think of luxury, of the richness of colors, of the beauty of fabrics, in a city without joy and without light…these two talented women carried on.”

The Vionnet style still continued and was sustained however two new distinct directions totally autonomous from this style were pursued. Mad Carpentier created incredibly beautiful evening dresses of extraordinary historical fantasy that were pre-runners to Dior’s new look of 1947. These gowns did not achieve the same flamboyant success of Fath and Dior because the Mad Carpentier gowns are too redolent of the past and failed to capture the spirit of the "new" necessary to the marketing and imagination of the postwar era




The other direction taken and perhaps the lasting legacy of the house were the remarkable coats for both day and evening wear. In all manner of shapes, silhouettes and textures these became virtually the hallmark of the house and were widely copied everywhere rivaling the sway that Balenciaga had achieved.







Women's Wear Daily (14 April 1948) commented, "the firm has gone its quiet way, and now ranks as a house for clothes of distinctive character rather than one taking an active or publicized role in the general development of the Paris couture. Carpentier clothes have the handmade air of Vionnet, but do not always follow the bias technique of that school of dressmaking."


Closing in 1957 Mad Carpentier turned out to be a house of traditional clothes bordering on the genteel, however offset by sensational coats. Its understated, highly proper sensibility was at odds with advanced and aggressive postwar fashion and only in the exuberance of its sculptural coats did the imagination and reputation soar.

11 comments:

  1. what an abolutely brilliant read - thanks David

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  2. I love that first photo of the draped goddess dress. I would wear that dress today....well if I had a formal event to go to...

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  3. aww I'm sooo into old '40s clothes, pitty that not everybody into that :(

    xx,
    JON
    http://jonathonfashionvictim.blogspot.com

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  4. I am in my forties, pity that not everybody is in to that :(

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  5. Although I am familar with Mad, I know little about the house. I do think there is truth to the statement that they slightly anticipated the return to luxury and style that is credited to Dior. I think part of the explanation is that Dior opened shortly after the war ended, and the western world was collectivley "ready" for the return of luxury, style, and to a certain extent, a sort of nostaligia for the past.

    Interesting post about a little discussed subject that deserves our attention.

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  6. This is exactly why I am so in love with your Blog. It surprises me endlessly. I discover so much new in your wonderful posts. Today, I almost forgot how to breathe while reaing your post.Thank you for sharing it with me.

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  7. Great post. Very well done. I never knew all of this. Thanks for sharing it with us. Have a wonderful week.

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  8. I am so glad that all have liked this post, I enjoyed doing it. I have few more posts similiar to this one that I am working on stay tuned!

    Anya you are too kind!

    Belle, you would look fabulous like a modern helen of Troy!

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  9. The strapless gown reminds me of my first wedding dress...if only my waist were still so tiny!

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