BARTHET Jean (Milliner)

While he often designed in the traditional manner of the great French hat makers such as Caroline Reboux, who placed the emphasis on purity of line and structure, Parisian Jean Barthet also embellished his creations with trimmings that reflected his own imagination. In this case, inspired by existentialism ideas of the period, Barthet created a hat that symbolized the hovering hands of fate. Two rose satin hands, one adorned with a diamond studded ring and bracelet from Boucheron, decorate the shallow black velvet calotte. Barthet showed his first collection in 1949 and rose to become the most successful milliner in Paris, dressing the heads of Sophia Loren and Catherine Deneuve. His success was underlined by his membership of the Chamber Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne and he collaborated throughout his career with his colleagues Claude Montana, Sonia Rykiel, Emmanuel Ungaro and Karl Lagerfeld. 

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