1880?-1936
French Fashion Innovator

Spirit of the 1920s.

Jean Patou may have been the couturier who most fully embodied the spirit of the 1920s. A handsome, high-stakes gambler in both the casinos and the fashion world, Patou aligned himself with the restless international cafe society of Paris and the newly popular Riviera. He helped define the youthful, athletic look of the mid 1920s by producing exquisitely cut short dresses, often pleated or fitted with geometric inserts to ensure freedom of movement, and by introducing "Cubist" sweaters and bathing suits. He identified this style as particularly "American" and stunned the fashion world by importing six young women from the United States to model in his Paris shows. Yet with his 1929 collections Patou almost single-handedly killed the "boyish" look by, during his spring show, reintroducing the natural bustline and waistline to women's fashion and, during his fall show...