Charles Frederick Worth
From Wikifashion
| Charles Frederick Worth | |
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| Born | October 13, 1825 Bourne, Lincolnshire, England |
| Died | March, 10, 1895 Paris, France |
| Occupation | Fashion Designer |
| Known for | Creating the Haute Couture industry |
| Children | Gaston, Jean-Philippe |
Charles Frederick Worth (13 October 1825-10 March 1895) was an English-born fashion designer who lived and worked in Paris in the 19th century. He is widely credited for being the father of the Haute Couture industry.
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Early Life
Charles Frederick Worth was born in Bourne, Lincolnshire, England on October 13th 1825 to Mary and William Worth, a solicitor[1]. At age 13 he began his career in clothing with a 7 year apprenticeship at Swan and Edgar, a haberdasher’s, selling dress materials and shawls. After completing his tenure there he then briefly moved on to Lewis and Allenby, London silk merchants, before deciding to make the trip to Paris in 1845.
Paris
After Worth migrated to Paris he began to work at Maison Gagelin, a fabric and dress accessories shop, where he met his wife, Marie Vernet who was also employed there. At this time Worth began to design and create gowns for his wife which were seen and admired by M. Gagelin’s patrons. In 1850 Worth convinced Gagelin to open a dressmaking department to sell ready made dresses and gowns, a completely new way to buy clothes at the time. Prior to this fabric was purchased and then taken to dressmakers. The design, style, and embellishments was all dictated by the customer not the dressmakers who were of a comparatively humble status and who visited women in their homes[2].
Worth & Bobergh
In 1858, after being denied a partnership at Maison Gagelin, Charles Worth found a financial backer in Otto Bobergh and they opened a studio on Rue de la Paix designing, creating and selling ladies dresses. In the space of ten years he had made himself the dictator of Paris fashion and changed the dressmaking industry into something more like the fashion and Haute Couture industries we have today[3]. Clients had to come to his studio where they would choose from his designs, or have Worth decide what they would buy, which would then be made up for them by the seamstresses. Women came from all over Europe and from America to be dressed by him. Worth was a savvy PR man who manipulated his personal image to create a brand. He adopted some of the sartorial elements of the ‘artist’s’ attire; the beret, smock and loose floppy tie to imbue this new concept of the ‘Couture Designer’ with the gravitas of the artist and genius.
The House of Worth
After the fall of the Second Empire, in 1870, Worth closed Worth & Bobergh on the Rue de la Paix, only to reopen the following year as The House of Worth. After his death on March 10th 1895 his sons Gaston (founder of Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture) and Jean-Phillipe took control of the House of Worth which continued to flourish and influence fashion well into the 20th century.
Clients
Empress Eugenie
Cora Pearl
Countess di Castiglione
Sarah Bernhardt
Dame Nellie Melba
Virginia Oldoini
Pauline von Metternich
References
- ↑ “The Thames and Hudson Dictionary of Fashion and Fashion Designers” 1998 p. 261
- ↑ Laver, James, “Costume and Fashion: A Concise History”, Thames and Hudson, 2002, p. 186
- ↑ Laver, James, “Costume and Fashion: A Concise History”, Thames and Hudson, 2002, p. 186
