MADAME GRES. THE GRAND DAME OF HAUTE COUTURE

Germaine Emilie Krebs was born in 1903, Paris. She changed her name several times, known as Alix Barton and later as "Madame Grès". In 1937 Krebs chose to sign Grès, the anagram of her Russian husband's first name Serg. And La Maison Grès officially opened in 1941 and was located at 1, rue de La Paix, in Paris. The Grand Dame of haute couture. She produced haute couture designs for clientele that included the Duchess of Windsor, Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, Jackie Kennedy, and Dolores del Río.(big movie star of the '30s). In her day, in 30's Grès was considered the equal of Coco Chanel and Dior, she is almost completely unknown today.

Madame Grès

Madame Grès

Madame Grès

Grès was an artist. Formally trained as a sculptress, she did not get success in this field, but started milliner and fulfilled her dream as she masterly sculpted textiles. Fascinated by gowns of antique Roman and Greek belles, Madame Grès implemented ancient images through her airy and soft dresses with millions of carefully composed folds. Like sculptures of Phidias and Praxiteles performed in fashion world.

Madame Grès with one of her designs, 1946

Evening gown with peplum, silk jersey. Photograph - George Platt Lynes, 1940

60s-70s, Madame Grès

Madame Grès' gown

Madame Grès, 1956. Photo - Philippe Pottier

Simone D’Aillencourt in Grès, 1958. Photo by Philippe Pottier

                             Madame Gres dress 1950s                    1954, Vogue Paris.  Photo by Henry Clarke

Madame Grès used alive mannequins when designing her gowns. She would take pieces of fabric and drape and pleat them right on the models, without pattern and creating with pins, using exposed mix of gown cut-outs and exposed skin such as a part of design - unorthodox method of dressmaking. Madame Grès was renowned for being the last of the haute couture houses in Paris to establish a ready-to-wear line, which she called a "prostitution". She believed that only haute couture was the legitimate form of dressmaking. Madame Grès was a master by many top designers such as Balenciaga, Givenchy, Saint Laurent, Yamamoto, Alaïa or Miyaké.

L'officiel de la mode 1953

Madame Grès, 1952 Evening Dress, Silk Shantung

Model wearing a gown by Madame Grés, 1953

Model wearing a dress by Madame Grès on the cover of L’Officiel, 1956. Photo by Philippe Pottier

Jacky Mazel wearing a red evening gown by Madame Grès, 1955

Gown by Madame Grès, 1957

Grand Dame of haute couture launched a fragrance line, but had to sell it to keep her couture going. The woman who demanded the finest quality and attention to detail had to take the step towards ready-to-wear clothing in the 80's. In 1987, the house went bankrupt. The name was bought by a Japanese fashion distributor and it became wildly successful in Japan. The present designer Koji Tatsuno pays homage to Madame Gres by continuing the draping style in a more modern way.

Madame Grès in her salon. Photo by Roger Vadim

When the house went bankrupt, many of the patterns and samples were destroyed. There are few Madame Grès creations out there and, given how few people were privileged enough to own one, the label is an elusive legend.