House of Worth
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The House of Worth was a leading Paris haute couture firm, established by Charles Frederick Worth, called the 'father of haute couture' and continued by his sons.
Charles Worth was raised in Bourne, Lincolnshire, and apprenticed as a draper in London for six years at Swan and Edgars, which specialized in fine wools and silks. In 1845, at the age of twenty-one, he set out to find his fortune in Paris. He became an assistant draper at Maison Gagelin at 83 Rue Richelieu, where he was to remain for over ten years, rising to premier commis. In this time, he took the opportunity to learn about the sources and characteristics of the various high-quality cloths available. He later used this knowledge to produce his famous designs.
Among his innovations was the introduction of ready-made muslin dress samples from which patrons could choose a style; he would then match the choice to an appropriate fabric.
At Gagelin's he met Marie Vernet, a demoiselle de maison who demonstrated the features of the cloths as draped on a moving woman. They were attracted to each other very early on, but owing to their limited incomes they did not marry until May 21st, 1851. This was just six weeks after the Great Exhibition opened at the Crystal Palace in London. Maison Gagelin showed several of Worth's designs there and although they caused great consternation in their departure from current fashion Gagelin was awarded a gold medal for France.
Eventually a true dressmaking shop was added to the traditional drapers. Worth's designs were noted for their simplicity of line and also fabulous decoration, in the case of ball gowns and costume gowns. In the semi-fictional biography Banners of Silk by Rosalind Laker, a few gowns are described thus:
"He gowned the Empress as Marie-Antoinette in rose velvet with head plumes a full metre high; as the wife of the Doge of Venice in black velvet and scarlet satin so covered with her magnificent diamonds that she sparkled from top to toe, and in many other outfits of similar grandeur."
Charles and Marie had two sons, Gaston and Jean-Phillipe. It was exhausting for Marie to live far away from her employers' and have the children cared for by hired help. When rooms became available above the Gagelin premises the Worths approached the partners of the firm desiring to rent them but were turned down on the grounds the a premier commis could not live above the store like a common shopkeeper. Frustrated by their snobbery, this was the catalyst that eventually led to Worth's opening his own gallery at 7 rue de la Paix in 1858.
His sons, Gaston-Lucien (1853–1924) and Jean-Philippe (1856–1926), took over their father's business following his death in 1895 and succeeded in maintaining his high standards. The house flourished during the sons' tenure and into the 1920s. The great fashion dynasty finally came to an end in 1952 when Charles Frederick Worth's great-grandson, Jean-Charles (1881–1962), retired from the family business. In 1954, the House merged with Paquin. Then in 1956 was closed.
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