Jean Patou, “the most elegant man in Europe”, as the American press called him, with the creation of his Maison in 1910 transformed women’s fashion. Patou opened his fashion house, having to close it during the First World War and reopened it after returning from the front.
Aesthete and pioneer, Jean Patou produced simple and elegant evening dresses, in addition to the first sportswear clothes with a casual style. He was given the credit of being the first designer to create branded ties, as he used to sign his creations with a monogram of his initials.
Patou was not only celebrated for his Maison, but for the homonymous perfume brand as well, launched in 1925. The most famous essence by Patou is “Joy”, a floral scent that, at some point, became the most expensive frangrance in the world.
After his death in 1936 – he was only 48 years old – many top-level stylists and creative directors such as Karl Lagerfeld, Jean Paul Gaultier and Christian Lacroix, succeeded him as mentors of the Maison, which had evolved in an authentic fashion institution.
In 2017 LVMH acquired Jean Patou with the aim of relaunching the French fashion brand. In this way, the women’s prêt-à -porter of Jean Patou came back to life with a new name, Patou, and a new art director, Guillaume Henry, who presented his first collection for the Maison during the Paris Fashion Week last September.
“A lot of people don’t know Patou so we don’t want to bring back a brand with its patrimonial or historical background but to see it with a new perspective“, said Henry, who is giving a modern and chic twist to the brand.
Ricamificio Paolo Italy had the honor of partecipating at the relaunch of the historical brand by creating a guipure collar with floral pattern and meshes, made with the crochet technique.
Pictures from Vogue