I became familiar with Madeleine Vionnet's work about five years ago, when I first began studying jewelry design. I had an assignment on fashion history and during my research I discovered Vionnet along with Mariano Fortuny, another great artist.
Madeleine Vionnet (June 22, 1876 - March 2, 1975) was a French fashion designer who created a fashion revolution by introducing the bias cut, a technique that enables fabric to cling softly to the body while moving with it, eschewing corsets and other constricting undergarments. Drawing inspiration by the Greek, Roman and medieval styles as well as the modern dances of Isadora Duncan, Vionnet created designs that showed off a woman's natural shape. Her garments appear to float freely around the body rather than distort or mold its shape.
In 1952, Madeleine Vionnet donated 22 dresses, 750 dress patterns and 75 photo albums to Les Arts Décoratifs. Selected from her major works between 1912 and 1939 and now restored with the aid of Natixis, this exceptional collection of avant-garde designs can at last be shown to the public. Madeleine Vionnet’s entire career was marked by her constant quest for freedom in extremely refined but unfettered designs close to antique drapery, which continue to fascinate couturiers such as Azzedine Alaia, Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto and John Galliano.
All information and images via Les Arts Décoratifs, wikipedia
