JEAN PATOU, SUCCESS THROUGH AUDACITY
Written by Emmanuelle Polle
Author of "Jean Patou, une vie sur mesure". Published by Flammarion (2013)
Born in Paris in 1887 to parents from the industrial bourgeoisie, nothing seemed to predispose Jean Patou to the profession of fashion designer. At the age of eighteen, he enlisted in the army while the family business, a tannery, was opening its arms to him. An entrepreneur at heart, he was 23 years old when he created his first fashion house, the House of Parry, on the Champs-Élysées roundabout. It was December 1910 and success was not long in coming, reinforcing the young man's idea that all it takes to succeed is daring.
In 1914, at the age of 27, he created a haute couture house bearing his name at 7, rue Saint-Florentin in Paris. The address was prestigious, a private mansion of 3500 m2. But the declaration of war and mobilisation forced him to postpone his desire to revolutionise fashion for several years. Once the war was over, full of memories brought back from the Eastern Front, he quickly made a name for himself with the rigour and modernity of his line. He dressed the great tennis player Suzanne Lenglen, whose white stockings revealed by a pleated skirt considered short, contributed to her fame. A new fashion was born, a 'Garçonne' and 'sporty' fashion, even if it did not require the customer to be a regular wearer.
A taste for scandal
In 1924, he caused a real scandal when he chose to recruit American models, whom he selected on the basis of the thinness of their ankles and the narrowness of their hips. In France, the teeth were chattering, the mentality was still based on the cult of the curvy Parisian woman. This marketing coup was a success, with customers from all over the world and the press flocking to Patou's fashion shows.
Jean Patou, known for his taste for casinos, staked a lot of money when, in 1929, he lengthened the skirts to the ankle, whereas they had stopped at the knee for years. What audacity! And once again, the gamble paid off. Soon, all the couturiers and dressmakers in Paris took up this stylistic innovation, which became the hallmark of the glamorous silhouette of the 1930s. Louise Brooks, Josephine Baker, the American aviatrix Ruth Elder and Rose Kennedy, JFK's mother, were among his clients.
An entrepreneurial instinct
This flamboyant personality also conceals a man with a rare aesthetic sense, a passionate collector and bibliophile, but also a modern entrepreneur, using the principles of scientific work organisation from the United States, and, finally, a skilfull manager who knew how to arouse the loyalty of his employees. Patou was a hard worker, a true workaholic. At the height of his success, the company employed 3,500 people and covered 10,000 m2 in the heart of Paris.
The economic crisis hit Patou hard. In 1930, he launched his most famous perfume, Joy, an opulent blend of rose and jasmine, soon known as "the costliest perfume in the world". He died before his 50th birthday. The family business passed into the hands of his sister Madeleine, and his brother-in-law, Raymond Barbas. Together they rebuilt the business, which returned to the forefront without ever losing its image of excellence. The workshops were renowned and young fashion designers of great stature followed one another: Marc Bohan, Karl Lagerfeld, Michel Goma, Jean-Paul Gaultier... until its closure in 1987 with the departure of Christian Lacroix. Guillaume Henry, the new designer at the helm since the label joined the LVMH group, directs the women's ready-to-wear collections.
In 2019 Jean Patou becomes Patou. A new page of history is being written, full of joy.