17th century, the Baroque and Classicism , the "Sun king" was the
absolute monarch of France, made his kingdom the leading European power and was the fashion idol of the
Baroque age.
Fashion prints The association of France with fashion and style (
la mode) is widely credited as beginning during the reign of
Louis XIV when the luxury goods industries in France came increasingly under royal control and the French royal court became, arguably, the arbiter of taste and style in Europe. The rise in prominence of French fashion was linked to the creation of the fashion press in the early 1670s (due in large part to
Jean Donneau de Visé), which transformed the fashion industry by marketing designs to a broad public outside the French court and by popularizing notions such as the fashion "season" and changing styles. The prints were usually 14.25 X 9.5 and depicted a man or woman of quality wearing the latest fashions. They were usually shown head to toe, but with no individuality or defined facial features. Sometimes the figure would be depicted from behind in order to showcase a different side of the clothing. Although the individual in the prints was often crudely sketched, the garment itself was impeccably drawn and detailed. Accessories to the garment also received nuanced attention. Louis XIV, although later hailed as a patron of fashion, did not actually have a large role in its spread and proliferation—which was due to the fashion prints. The fashion prints were ubiquitous, but Louis XIV neither sponsored nor hindered their production and proliferation, and largely stayed out of it unless the prints of himself specifically were treasonous, satirical, or caricatures. In 1680, Louis began to be portrayed directly rather than in a mythological setting. This began the "fashion portraits", which were prints that depicted the King wearing the notable fashions of the season. These prints were also largely unofficial, which meant printers were unaffiliated with the Crown. They largely went unchallenged by authorities, however, as long as they portrayed the King in a positive light. Those who did portray the King satirically or with the use of caricature faced imprisonment. However, Rigaud's intention was to glorify the monarchy. Rigaud's original, now housed in the
Louvre, was originally meant as a gift to Louis's grandson,
Philip V of Spain. However, Louis was so pleased with the work that he kept the original and commissioned a copy to be sent to his grandson. That became the first of many copies, both in full and half-length formats, to be made by Rigaud, often with the help of his assistants. The portrait also became a model for French royal and imperial portraiture down to the time of
Charles X over a century later. In his work, Rigaud proclaims Louis's exalted royal status through his elegant stance and haughty expression, the royal regalia and throne, rich ceremonial fleur-de-lys robes, as well as the upright column in the background, which, together with the draperies, serves to frame this image of majesty.
Trends '', c. 1640 – 1925 Louis XIV notably introduced one of the most noticeable feature of the men's costume of the time: immense wigs of curled hair. A commonly held belief is that Louis XIV started to wear wigs due to balding, and to imitate this his courtiers put on false hair. Furthermore, although the Louis XIV's formal clothing would change along with the rest of
la mode, his ceremonial clothing did not, and remained with tradition. being the subject of several books, films and other forms of media. Most academics and scholars, have deemed her the quintessential representative of
class conflict, western
aristocracy and
absolutism government in addition to being frivolous, superficial; and have attributed the start of the
French Revolution. The phrase "
Let them eat cake" is often attributed to Marie Antoinette, but there is no evidence she ever uttered it, and it is now generally regarded as a "journalistic cliché". It may have been a rumor started by angry French peasants as a form of
libel. This phrase originally appeared in Book VI of the first part (finished in 1767, published in 1782) of
Rousseau's putative autobiographical work,
Les Confessions: "''Enfin je me rappelai le pis-aller d'une grande princesse à qui l'on disait que les paysans n'avaient pas de pain, et qui répondit: Qu'ils mangent de la brioche''" ("Finally I recalled the stopgap solution of a great princess who was told that the peasants had no bread, and who responded: 'Let them eat
brioche). Apart from the fact that Rousseau ascribes these words to an unknown princess, vaguely referred to as a "great princess", some think that he invented it altogether as
Confessions was largely inaccurate. In 1700, the total monetary value of goods produced in France was documented at a rate of 5%. By the 1780s, gross domestic product rates had increased to 13%. The escalation in production was largely attributable to the growth of the textile industry. The boom in consumerism was fueled by an overwhelming interest in high fashion which surpassed the boundaries of economic rank. French plebeian's wardrobes became increasingly valuable. Particularly in Paris, women began purchasing dupes of luxury items customarily worn by the elite. These fashion accessories included watches, buttons, and belt buckles. The rise in distinguishable fashion styles worn by lower class French citizens was exhibited by the coordination of patriotic clothing worn by the republican Sans-culottes. The Sans-culottes were the working class of French peasants who fought for liberty during the French Revolution (1789–1799). The
Sans-culottes (lit. "without knee-breeches") rejected the powdered wigs and the knee-breeches assimilated to the nobility, and instead favored informal styles (full-length trousers, and natural hair), which finally triumphed over the
brocades,
lace,
periwig, and powder of the earlier eighteenth century. Fashion during the French Revolution greatly reflected the political climate of France. Sans-culottes were known to wear the red cap of liberty, also called the Phrygian cap. This cap was a controversial symbol of rebellion worn exclusively by lower class revolutionaries. Furthermore, the official French colors of blue, red, and white (chosen to be the recognizable patriotic colors of the revolution in 1789), came together to form the tricolor cockade. The design of the tricolor cockade often appeared in dresses, fans, and pins of French citizens who were in support of the French Revolution. Patriotic women were often clad in a dark uniform of black skirts, jackets, and hats adorned with a tricolor cockade.
19th century, full Neoclassicism and Empire style neo-classical styles reached its peak. After the fall of the
Jacobins and their Sans-culottes supporters, the supporters of the
Thermidorian Reaction were known as the
Incroyables and Merveilleuses. They scandalized Paris with their extravagant clothes. The Merveilleuses wore dresses and tunics modeled after the ancient Greeks and Romans, cut of light or even transparent linen and gauze. Sometimes so revealing they were termed "woven air", many gowns displayed
cleavage and were too tight to allow pockets. To carry even a handkerchief, the ladies had to use small bags known as reticules. They were fond of wigs, often choosing blonde because the
Paris Commune had banned blonde wigs, but they also wore them in black, blue, and green. Enormous hats, short curls like those on Roman busts, and Greek-style sandals were the most popular. The sandals were tied above the ankle with crossed ribbons or strings of pearls. Exotic and expensive scents fabricated by perfume houses like
Parfums Lubin were worn as both for style and as indicators of social station.
Thérésa Tallien, known as "Our Lady of Thermidor", wore expensive rings on the toes of her bare feet and gold circlets on her legs. , a leading
Merveilleuse|left The Incroyables wore eccentric outfits: large earrings, green jackets, wide trousers, huge neckties, thick glasses, and hats topped by "dog ears", their hair falling on their ears. Their
musk-based fragrances earned them too the derogatory nickname
muscadins among the lower classes, already applied to a wide group of anti-Jacobins. They wore
bicorne hats and carried bludgeons, which they referred to as their "executive power." Hair was often shoulder-length, sometimes pulled up in the back with a comb to imitate the hairstyles of the condemned. Some sported large monocles, and they frequently affected a lisp and sometimes a stooped hunchbacked posture. In addition to Madame Tallien, famous Merveilleuses included
Anne Françoise Elizabeth Lange,
Jeanne Françoise Julie Adélaïde Récamier, and two very popular
Créoles: Fortunée Hamelin and
Hortense de Beauharnais. Hortense, a daughter of the
Empress Josephine, married
Louis Bonaparte and became the mother of
Napoleon III. Fortunée was not born rich, but she became famous for her
salons and her string of prominent lovers. Parisian society compared
Germaine de Staël and Mme Raguet to
Minerva and
Juno and named their garments for Roman deities: gowns were styled
Flora or
Diana, and tunics were styled
à la Ceres or Minerva. The leading Incroyable,
Paul François Jean Nicolas, vicomte de Barras, was one of five Directors who ran the Republic of France and gave the period its name. He hosted luxurious feasts attended by
royalists, repentant
Jacobins, ladies, and courtesans. Since divorce was now legal, sexuality was looser than in the past. However, de Barras' reputation for immorality may have been a factor in his later overthrow, a
coup that brought the
French Consulate to power and paved the way for
Napoleon Bonaparte.
Final 19th and early 20th century, Belle époque and Années folles , French designer revolutionised fashion world, in the post-World War I era.France renewed its dominance of the high fashion () industry in the years 1860–1960 through the establishing of the great
couturier houses, the fashion press (
Vogue was founded in 1892 in US, and 1920 in France) and
fashion shows. French fashion, particularly haute couture, became a fixture of France's post-war prestige-based commercial diplomacy, combining nation branding and export branding. The first modern Parisian couturier house is generally considered the work of the Englishman
Charles Frederick Worth, who dominated the industry from 1858 to 1895. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the industry expanded through such Parisian fashion houses as the house of
Jacques Doucet (founded in 1871), Rouff (founded 1884),
Jeanne Paquin (founded in 1891), the
Callot Soeurs (founded 1895 and operated by four sisters),
Paul Poiret (founded in 1903),
Louise Chéruit (founded 1906),
Madeleine Vionnet (founded in 1912),
House of Patou by
Jean Patou (founded in 1919),
Elsa Schiaparelli (founded in 1927) or
Balenciaga (founded by the Spaniard
Cristóbal Balenciaga in 1937).
Chanel founded by Mademoiselle
Coco Chanel, it first came to prominence in 1925, its philosophy was to emphasize understated elegance through her clothing. Her popularity thrived in the 1920s, because of innovative designs. Chanel's own look itself was as different and new as her creations. Instead of the usual pale-skinned, long-haired and full-bodied women preferred at the time, Chanel had a boyish figure, short cropped hair, and tanned skin. She had a distinct type of beauty that the world came to embrace. The horse culture and penchant for hunting so passionately pursued by the elites, especially the British, fired Chanel's imagination. Her own enthusiastic indulgence in the sporting life led to clothing designs informed by those activities. From her excursions on water with the yachting world, she appropriated the clothing associated with nautical pursuits: the horizontal striped shirt, bell-bottom pants, crewneck sweaters, and espadrille shoes—all traditionally worn by sailors and fishermen.
World War II, Trente Glorieuses and New Look Many fashion houses closed during the occupation of Paris in
World War II, including the
Maison Vionnet and the
Maison Chanel. In contrast to the stylish, liberated
Parisienne, the
Vichy regime promoted the model of the wife and mother, the robust, athletic young woman, a figure who was much more in line with the new political criteria. Germany, meanwhile, was taking possession of over half of what France produced, including high fashion, and was considering relocating French
haute couture to the cities of Berlin and
Vienna, neither of which had any significant tradition of fashion. The archives of the
Chambre Syndicale de la Couture were seized, mostly for their client lists as
Jews were excluded from the fashion industry at this time. and
evening glove, House of Dior, 1954.
Indianapolis Museum of Art. During this era, the number of employed models was limited to seventy-five and designers often substituted materials in order to comply with wartime shortages. From 1940 onward, no more than thirteen feet (four meters) of cloth was permitted to be used for a coat and a little over three feet (one meter) for a blouse. No belt could be over one and a half inches (four centimeters) wide. As a result of the frugal wartime standards, the practical
zazou suit became popular among young French men. In spite of the fact that so many fashion houses closed down or moved away during the war, several new houses remained open, including
Jacques Fath,
Maggy Rouff,
Marcel Rochas, Jeanne Lafaurie,
Nina Ricci, and Madeleine Vramant. During the Occupation, the only true way for a woman to flaunt her extravagance and add color to a drab outfit was to wear a hat. In this period, hats were often made of scraps of material that would have otherwise been thrown away, sometimes incorporating butter muslin, bits of paper, and wood shavings. Among the most innovative milliners of the time were Pauline Adam, Simone Naudet,
Rose Valois, and Le Monnier. Post-war fashion returned to prominence through
Christian Dior's famous "
New Look" in 1947: the collection contained dresses with tiny waists, majestic busts, and full skirts swelling out beneath small bodices, in a manner very similar to the style of the
Belle Époque. The extravagant use of fabric and the feminine elegance of the designs appealed greatly to a post-war clientele. Other important houses of the period included
Pierre Balmain and
Hubert de Givenchy (opened in 1952). The fashion magazine
Elle was founded in 1945. In 1952,
Coco Chanel herself returned to Paris.
From '60s to today Post-war fashion returned to prominence through
Christian Dior's famous "
New Look" in 1947: the collection contained dresses with tiny waists, majestic busts, and full skirts swelling out beneath small bodices, in a manner very similar to the style of the
Belle Époque. The extravagant use of fabric and the feminine elegance of the designs appealed greatly to a post-war clientele. Other important houses of the period included
Pierre Balmain and
Hubert de Givenchy (opened in 1952). The fashion magazine
Elle was founded in 1945. In 1952,
Coco Chanel herself returned to Paris. In 1966, the designer
Yves Saint Laurent broke with established high fashion norms by launching a
prêt-à-porter ("ready to wear") line and expanding French fashion into mass manufacturing and marketing (member houses of the
Chambre Syndicale were forbidden to use even sewing machines). In 1985, Caroline Rennolds Milbank wrote, "The most consistently celebrated and influential designer of the past twenty-five years, Yves Saint Laurent can be credited with both spurring the couture's rise from its sixties ashes and with finally rendering
ready-to-wear reputable." He is also credited with having introduced the
tuxedo suit for women and was known for his use of non-European cultural references, and non-white models. Further innovations were carried out by
Paco Rabanne and
Pierre Cardin. In post-1968 France, youth culture would continue to gravitate away from the "sociopolitically suspect" luxury
clothing industry, preferring instead a more "hippy" look (termed
baba cool in French). With a greater focus on marketing and manufacturing, new trends were established by
Sonia Rykiel,
Thierry Mugler,
Claude Montana,
Jean-Paul Gaultier and
Christian Lacroix in the 1970s and '80s. The 1990s saw a conglomeration of many French couture houses under luxury giants and multinationals such as
LVMH. Fashion is so important to the French that, as
The New York Times in 1995 quoted in an article on users of
online dating services on
Minitel, "Where else but in France would people describe themselves to potential partners in terms of their clothes?" Since the 1960s, France's fashion industry has come under increasing competition from London, New York, Milan and Tokyo. Nevertheless, many foreign designers still seek to make their careers in France:
Karl Lagerfeld (German) at Chanel,
John Galliano (British) and later,
Raf Simons (Belgian) at Dior, Paulo Melim Andersson (Swedish) at Chloe,
Stefano Pilati (Italian) at Yves Saint Laurent,
Marc Jacobs (American) at Louis Vuitton, and
Kenzo Takada (Japanese) and
Alexander McQueen (English) at Givenchy (until 2001). ==Cities and towns==