BAKST Léon (Illustrator/Designer)

The overall effect of this costume is both classical and oriental. It reflects the current fashionable silhouette in its long, columnar shape. However, this severe line is softened by the lavish surface decoration, reminiscent of the East. Léon Bakst's contribution to the history of fashion came through the theatre. He collaborated with Sergei Diaghilev in the creation of the Ballets Russes, which came to Paris in 1909. As its artistic director, Bakst designed the vibrantly coloured and exotic costumes. It was his designs for Schéhérazade that caused a sensation when it was performed in Paris in 1910. Orientalism in haute couture had already been successfully promoted by Paul Poiret. It was given further impetus by Bakst's sensual costumes, which had an extraordinary impact on Parisian fashion houses such as Worth and Paquin, who used his designs from 1912 to 1915. Bakst, like Erté, was a designer and an illustrator.

Also look up for Barbier, Brunelleschi, Doeuillet, Erté, Iribe, Poiret