Inès de la Fressange
Encyclopedia
Inès Marie Lætitia Églantine Isabelle de Seignard de La Fressange (born 11 August 1957), is a French model, aristocrat and designer of fashion and perfume
s. She was named to the International Best Dressed List
Hall of Fame in 1998.
, Var, France, the daughter of Marquess
André de Seignard de La Fressange (b. 1932), a French stockbroker, and Cecilia Sánchez Cirez, an Argentine model. She grew up in an 18th-century mill outside Paris with three brothers. Her paternal grandmother was Madame Louis Jacquinot
(née Simone Lazard), heiress to the Lazard
banking fortune.
Tall at 180 cm (5'11") and with a weight of 50 kg (110 lb), in the 1980s, she became the first model to sign an exclusive modeling contract with an haute couture fashion house, Chanel
, by fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld
, whose muse she became.
However, in 1989, Lagerfeld and De la Fressange had an argument and parted company. Likely this argument was, at least in part, regarding her decision to lend her likeness to a bust of Marianne
, the ubiquitous symbol of the French Republic. Lagerfeld reputedly condemned her decision, saying that Marianne was the embodiment of "everything that is boring, bourgeois, and provincial" and that he would not dress up historic monuments.
In 1990, she married Luigi d'Urso
(d. 23 March 2006), an Italian railroad executive, with whom she had two daughters.
As of 2009, La Fressange does not model often. She has been a businesswoman with a chain of clothing boutiques, a designer, and a consultant for Jean-Paul Gaultier
. She presented a creation by Gaultier for his Spring/Summer 2009 haute couture collection at the Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week and walked the runway for Gaultier during the event, at age 51. Also, she walked the Chanel spring-summer 2011 show.
Perfume
Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils and/or aroma compounds, fixatives, and solvents used to give the human body, animals, objects, and living spaces "a pleasant scent"...
s. She was named to the International Best Dressed List
International Best Dressed List
The International Best Dressed List was founded by fashionista Eleanor Lambert in 1940 as an attempt to boost the reputation of American fashion at the time.People who have been on the list include from A to Z:-The International Hall of Fame: Women:...
Hall of Fame in 1998.
Biography
La Fressange was born in GassinGassin
Gassin is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.It is located right next to Saint-Tropez. Perched high up on a rock, it is less than from the sea...
, Var, France, the daughter of Marquess
Marquess
A marquess or marquis is a nobleman of hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The term is also used to translate equivalent oriental styles, as in imperial China, Japan, and Vietnam...
André de Seignard de La Fressange (b. 1932), a French stockbroker, and Cecilia Sánchez Cirez, an Argentine model. She grew up in an 18th-century mill outside Paris with three brothers. Her paternal grandmother was Madame Louis Jacquinot
Louis Jacquinot
Louis Jacquinot was a French lawyer and politician, and chief of Prime Minister Raymond Poincaré's office.Jacquinot was born in Gondrecourt-le-Château in 1898. Entering parliament in 1932, he later served for a short time as under-secretary of state for home affairs in Paul Reynaud's cabinet...
(née Simone Lazard), heiress to the Lazard
Lazard
Lazard Ltd is the parent company of Lazard Group LLC, a global, independent investment bank with approximately 2,300 employees in 42 cities across 27 countries throughout Europe, North America, Asia, Australia, Central and South America...
banking fortune.
Tall at 180 cm (5'11") and with a weight of 50 kg (110 lb), in the 1980s, she became the first model to sign an exclusive modeling contract with an haute couture fashion house, Chanel
Chanel
Chanel S.A. is a French fashion house founded by the couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, well established in haute couture, specializing in luxury goods . She gained the name "Coco" while maintaining a career as a singer at a café in France...
, by fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld
Karl Lagerfeld
Karl Lagerfeld is a German fashion designer, artist and photographer based in Paris. He has collaborated on a variety of fashion and art related projects, most notably as head designer and creative director for the fashion house Chanel...
, whose muse she became.
However, in 1989, Lagerfeld and De la Fressange had an argument and parted company. Likely this argument was, at least in part, regarding her decision to lend her likeness to a bust of Marianne
Marianne
Marianne is a national emblem of France and an allegory of Liberty and Reason. She represents the state and values of France, differently from another French cultural symbol, the "Coq Gaulois" which represents France as a nation and its history, land, culture, and variety of sport disciplines in...
, the ubiquitous symbol of the French Republic. Lagerfeld reputedly condemned her decision, saying that Marianne was the embodiment of "everything that is boring, bourgeois, and provincial" and that he would not dress up historic monuments.
In 1990, she married Luigi d'Urso
(d. 23 March 2006), an Italian railroad executive, with whom she had two daughters.
As of 2009, La Fressange does not model often. She has been a businesswoman with a chain of clothing boutiques, a designer, and a consultant for Jean-Paul Gaultier
Jean-Paul Gaultier
Jean Paul Gaultier , born 24 April 1952 in Arcueil, Val-de-Marne, France) is a French haute couture fashion designer. Gaultier was the creative director of Hermès from 2003 to 2010. In the past, he has hosted the television series Eurotrash....
. She presented a creation by Gaultier for his Spring/Summer 2009 haute couture collection at the Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week and walked the runway for Gaultier during the event, at age 51. Also, she walked the Chanel spring-summer 2011 show.