She is called the queen of oblique cut. Her unusual ideas were borrowed by leading fashion designers, and the unusual styles of dresses fell in love with women of many countries. In our article, we will talk about the famous Madeleine Vionne, who practically organized a revolution in the fashion world.
Childhood and youth
Madeleine Vionne was born in June 1876 in a small French city called Albertville, which is located in the picturesque Alps. The local clean air since childhood set up the girl for creative achievements, because it was not for nothing that Madeleine had a dream from becoming an sculptor from an early age. Living in a low-income family, she went early to earn money for food. At age 11, Madeleine was offered to become an assistant tailor who lived nearby.
At 17, she left her homeland and went to conquer the capital. Here she managed to get a job as a seamstress in the Vincent fashion house. At that time, the prospects were not very bright, because the girl did not have elementary secondary education. True, she already learned to sew well and had decent experience in this field.
Life in the UK
Five years later, Madeleine Vionne, whose biography is a lot of difficulties, went to London. At first she had to work as a laundress, then she got a job in a workshop where they copied fashionable French clothing models. In London, the girl married an emigrant from Russia. They had a daughter, but the girl died at an early age, which led to the collapse of the family. Madeline long and bitterly experienced the loss of a child, so she completely plunged into work.
Activities at home
The first success came to Madeleine Vionne in her native France. It was in Paris that she got a good job in the very famous fashion house of the Callot sisters at that time. Soon, one of the hostesses offered the girl to be her assistant - they together led the artistic part of the company. Madeline really liked it, later she warmly remembered her mentors.
After the house, Callot, the girl went to work for the famous Jacques Douce, where she got the position of cutter. However, here Vionne with her extraordinary ideas discouraged both the fashion designer and his clients. It seemed to her that it was time to remove tight corsets, and gymnastics and diet, and not clothes, should outline a thin waist. Plus, Madeleine offered to demonstrate models without underwear, which no one liked. The girl had to leave this job with a scandal.
Own business
In 1912, Vionne decided to open her own business. And so the Madeleine Vionnet Fashion House was born, which is located in Paris along Rivoli street. But the full work of the new studio began only in 1919 because of the First World War. Immediately after the end of hostilities, the new brand began to rapidly gain momentum: women adopted Madeleine's ideas, having experienced their practicality. Much has changed, old forms, silhouettes and general views on appearance and style have replaced new ones.
Madeleine Vionne - a fashion designer by vocation - created unusual, complex outfits. She did not even bother that she did not possess the art of drawing. It was enough mathematical mindset and excellent spatial thinking. She will later be called a fashion architect. She created new sketches directly on the mannequin, unlike many other couturiers who first drew on paper. Vionne carefully stabbed the fabric and made assemblies until the moment she got the perfect dress.
Innovative ideas
Only Madeleine Vionne had a little strange for that time, but interesting and unique ideas. Dresses had a light, flying silhouette, demonstrating the merits of the figure. But the most famous innovative idea is oblique cut. Madeleine came up with the idea of turning the edge of the fabric at an angle of 45 degrees relative to the base of the product. In the 30s of the last century, it was impossible to imagine fashion without the use of such a cut. Similar tricks were used earlier, but only in small details, since corset styles did not allow fantasy to “roam”. Viognet decided to create whole outfits. Such cutting allowed the fabric to naturally lay down on the figure. As for the material, Madeleine preferred flowing silk, crepe, satin.
Materials and fabrics
To create masterpieces, the Bianchini-Ferrier textile factory supplied fabrics for fashionable Madeleine Vionne. Her patterns were so unusual that they had to buy huge canvases of matter up to two meters wide to create another new model. By special order Vionne created a soft pink shade, which was a mix of acetate and silk. But the fashion designer was not interested in the color of the material, but in the form of the dress. Everything was supposed to emphasize the naturalness and beauty of the female body. As Madeline herself said, the dress should smile with her mistress.
Special features of creativity
It's no secret that the most popular Madeleine Vionne products are dresses. Photos of the models confirm their main feature - they practically have no shape on hangers or shoulders, but come to life and play completely differently on the figure. Madeline has always been of the opinion that clothing should be created for and for a person, to satisfy his needs and needs, so the body does not have to adapt to any silhouette or shape.
Career
Beginning in 1923, Madame Vionne's small atelier was very widely known among fashionistas and could no longer cope with the stream of orders that rained down on all sides. I had to move to a more free and spacious room, the design of which was created according to the sketches of famous artists (Boris Lacroix, Rene Lalique, etc.). Literally a year later, the Americans already knew the name Vionne - her office was opened in New York. Later, in one of the most fashionable resorts in France, Biarritz, a new branch of the Fashion House was opened. Rich people from all over the world came to rest there, it was profitable to have a studio Madeleine Vionne in such a place. The cut of her unusual and at the same time elegant outfits delighted even the most capricious young ladies.
It is known that the brand even released its own perfume at one time, but it was not popular for long.
Unusual inventions
Experienced fashion designers are familiar with yet another important invention by Madame Vionne in the fashion world. She owns the idea of creating an outfit without fasteners - just one seam or one knot is enough. Madeleine is the author of such details as a collar-pipe, neck-collar. In addition, small details in the form of a rhombus, triangle and rectangle are included in the piggy bank of her ideas. What other creative solutions were born in the Madeleine fashion house? Of course, this is a non-standard evening dress with a hood, a coat with a plain lining (matching the color of the outfit). The last attire again became fashionable in the 60s of the last century.
Madeline loved to create dresses without fasteners or with fasteners on her back. There were models that held thanks only to a bow tie. These outfits allowed ladies to easily drive a car, dance jazz and move freely. The main distinguishing feature of Vionne's products is a harmonious combination of luxury and simplicity, which modern fashion aspires to. Among Madeline's regular customers were such well-known personalities as Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, and others.
Entertaining facts
Madeleine Vionne is considered the first woman who fought with fakes and counterfeit products. For these purposes, she carefully photographed each of her new inventions and pasted photographs into a special album. Over the years, a fashion designer has collected 75 portfolios. For Madeleine, things were works of art that should live forever, like paintings by great painters.
Also, Madame Vionne was one of the first to hire professional models to display clothes. Thanks to Madeleine, the profession of fashion has become more prestigious. In the Fashion House, the working procedure was quite strict, but the employees had many advantages: a hospital, a canteen and a travel agency were created on the territory.
The decline of the fashion house
Unstable income and lack of commercial vein led to a depressing financial situation for Madeleine. With the outbreak of World War II, the Fashion House had to be completely closed. Later, Vionne’s magnificent products will be sold at auctions for large sums, of which nothing will come to their author, since the designer was forgotten by everyone after closing her brainchild. Madeline died in 1975. She is remembered as a woman with impeccable taste, who herself always looked perfect and dressed her clients no less beautifully.