LAMPSHADE dress PAUL POIRET (designer)

If you are taken with the flair in which Phryne Fisher wears the glamorous coats in the PBS series Ms. Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, or relished in the flamboyant entrance of Shirley MacLaine’s character Martha Levinson in Downton Abbey, then you owe your adoration to Paul Poiret. If you dream of possessing a Cocoon Coat

Minaret tunic: Designed by Paul Poiret and it was a wide tunic boned to hold out the skirt in a full circle. Women would sometimes wear it over the hobble skirts.

Minaret tunic is a wide tunic that was designed by Paul Poiret that was boned to hold out the skirt in a full circle and worn over the narrowest of hobble skirts.

Early last century, influences from the Orient influenced art and fashion. Paul Poiret and Mariano Fortuny were the two designers who have brought more fabrics and designs inspired by the Rising Sun in fashion. Paul Poiret became famous with his controversial kimono coat and similar, loose-fitting designs created specifically for an uncorseted, slim figure. His designs were exotic; the Russian ballet, Orientalism, and African art, as interpreted by the cubists, were typical influences. Paul…

dancers

Peggy Guggenheim in Paul Poiret

. The story of Paul Poiret is one of a working class son, who used his natural charisma to gain entry into some of the most exclusive ateliers in Paris and eventually became one of the twentieth ce…

* Luisa Casati in couture by Paul Poiret 1913.