Paul Poiret (1879-1944) was an influential French fashion designer during the early twentieth century. He led a fashion renaissance that introduced free-flowing dresses, replaced tight corsets with brassieres, and added a new standard of artistic value to his fashion plates.

Poiret was born on April 20, 1879 in Paris. His father was a cloth merchant, and Poiret lived with his parents and his three sisters in an apartment above the shop. Poiret's parents had an interest in the arts and embellished their home with whatever art works they could afford. The family also owned a country house outside of Paris, at Billancourt, where Poiret spent his spare time constructing fountains, pressing petals from the garden, and gathering odd bits of iron and junk into what he called his antique collection.

When Poiret was 12, he and his family moved to Rue des Halles in Paris, where Poiret attended Ecole Massillon. When...