Fashion Design
1953. Hardcover. Gouache (opaque watercolor), painted on wove paper (7 3/4“ X 11 1/2“). The verso annotated in red ink, “N:15.160” and “Groupe de Danseuses” (group of dancers), ours being one survivor from a suite of them, and stamp signed (thus authenticated) by Erté. A pair of 1” tape shadows on the back, else near fine. Matted and framed (double acrylic), a little nick to the frame. Ex–HA, $1,006, Oct 29, 2021, lot 23003. The last 2 Erté gouaches we noticed at auction sold for $3,750 and $2,125 both at HA in 2022. Limited and unlimited serigraphs, lithographs, posters, and production prints of Erté’s designs are always for sale, but this is a hand painted, working, illustration, and resides at a higher level of snootiness. Fine. Item #802
Modern haute couture traces back to Rose Berlin (1747–1813), dressmaker to Marie Antoinette. Berlin was the first celebrated French fashion designer, and the reason Paris was viewed as the center of that world, but for 15 years she only had one patron. In those days the anonymous needleworker visited the client’s home for measuring, design approval, and fabric choice. Then, in 1858, Charles Worth (1825–1895) invented the haute couture salon where his customers came to him. The new idea was embraced by the nobility, and soon after by the untitled wealthy. His salon became the place to be seen, interest surged, and he soon employed 1,200 workers. He was the first to establish the dressmaker as the artist, the first to put a brand label in his apparel, the first to replace dolls with live models, and the first to have seasonal showings. In 1868 he formed Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, the society that still governs high dressmaking. Worth dominated elite fashion in the late 19th century, and his business model became the template for a new generation that was emerging. Jeanne Paquin (the first woman) set up shop next door to Worth, and Jacques Doucet did so 4 doors away, and it was Doucet who introduced lighter fabrics and evanescent colors, and though Worth had offered dresses without crinolines or bustles, by 1905 Doucet had abandoned them entirely (Doucet was also an extoled art collector who bought Les Demoiselles d’Avignon directly from Picasso). Among their peers were Patou, Lanvin, Soeurs, Callot, Redfern, Cheruit, Doeuillet, and Fortuny, followed shortly thereafter by Schiaparelli, Mainbocher, Poiret, Vionnet, the great Balenciaga, and the even greater Chanel. This was when Erté first appeared, and though his aura glowed, he left Paris and followed the money to Hollywood, where he excelled, designing costumes and sets for films in the 1920s. When the depression came his opulent style lost favor and he returned to Europe and faded, mostly doing magazine covers and a few fashion assignments. After WWII Dior led the next generation, a time of giants, among them the immediate return of Balenciaga, then Chanel in 1954, and they solidified the industry during what became a golden age, dominated by a guild of genii at the summit of design innovation. Each house employed workers of talent and some with talent became prodigies, and some of the prodigies became maestros and maestras, and their names, designs, fame, and influence are well known. Meanwhile, Erté stayed alive on minor jobs until he had a sudden and unpredictable revival when some friends held a 1967 NY exhibition of 100 Erté gouaches and The Metropolitan Museum of Art bought them all. And because The Met promoted him, in some public circles he is now more famous than his betters.
So, the couturier and couturière are only 164 years old, and their paintings are not yet widely or systematically collected, but I believe they will be. and soon, even though I can’t time it. Just as I believe in the rotation of the Earth, even though I can’t feel it.
Now, that is all fashion, but there is still room for 2 sentences about style. Wearing clothes with words on them is not style. I mean if people don’t want to listen to you, what makes you think they want to hear from your purse, or your hat, or your t-shirt?
Price:
$1,400.00