CRAHAY Jules-François (Designer)

Jules-François Crahay poses with Jane Birkin who wears a matte jersey dress pulled into a lazy handkerchief knot at the shoulder. Crahay learned the techniques of dressmaking at his mother's shop in Liège and at the fashion house of Jane Régny in Paris. After these apprenticeship he became a designer at Nina Ricci in 1952, then at the house of Lanvin in 1963. While he was fêted for his refined eveningwear, Crahay was also one of the leading fashion designers to promote the peasant and gypsy styles that dominated fashion at the end of the 1960s. As early as 1959, his collections contained full, flounced skirts worn with low-cut, elasticated blouses and scarves worn around the head, neck and waist. All were made in vividly coloured, lightweight materials that produced the light, feminine style for which Crahay is remembered. He characterized his own work by saying that he wanted to have fun making his dresses. 

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