DOUCET Jacques (Designer)

Doucet's gown is beautifully illustrated by Magnin for La Gazette du Bon Ton in 1914. The illustration reflects not only the high-waisted style in vogue before the First World War but also the way Doucet worked with artists. Together with his contemporary Poiret, he helped revive the art of fashion illustration in France. He was also a patron of the fine arts in 1909 bought Picasso's avant-garde painting Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, installing it at the head of a crystal staircase in a specially built wing of his house. The grandson of a lace merchant, Doucet expanded the family business by opening a couture department in 1871. With his gowns of rare gros-point de Venise, bodices of paper-thin ivory chamois and opera capes lined with swans' down or chinchilla, Doucet's style epitomized the opulent femininity of the belle époque.

Also look up for Doeuillet, Iribe, Paquin, Poiret