Mainbocher
Encyclopedia
Mainbocher is a fashion label founded by the American couturier
Main Rousseau Bocher (October 24, 1890 - December 27, 1976), also known as Mainbocher. Established in 1929, the house of Mainbocher successfully operated in Paris (1929-1939) and then in New York (1940-1971). According to fashion writer Dale McConathy, the designer's name is not pronounced in the French manner, but instead as MAIN-bawker.
Main Bocher was a native of Chicago
, where he studied art at the University of Chicago
and the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. He served in the Army in the World War I
and stayed on in Paris after the war, working as a fashion illustrator for Harper's Bazaar
, as Paris fashion editor for Vogue
(1922-1929), and eventually became the editor-in-chief of the French edition of Vogue
in early 1927. Mainbocher's decision to become a couturier grew out of his years as editor at Vogue
; he realized that his critical eye and his feeling for fashion might also serve him as a designer.
In November 1929, Main Bocher fused his own name, in honor of his favorite couturiers
, Augustabernard and Louiseboulanger, and established his own fashion house, incorporated as "Mainbocher Couture," at 12 Avenue George V in Paris.
Mainbocher designed expensive, elegant haute couture
dress
es and gown
s for an exclusive clientele who included fashion editors like Carmel Snow
, Bettina Ballard, Diana Vreeland
, titles like Elsie de Wolfe
, Lady Castlerosse, the Vicomtesse de Noailles
, Lady Abdy, Baronne de Rothschild, pianist Dame Myra Hess
, society like Millicent Rogers
, Daisy Fellowes
, Mrs. Cole Porter
, Syrie Maugham, and stars like Mary Pickford
, Constance Bennett
, Kay Francis
, Claudette Colbert
, Irene Dunne
, Loretta Young
, Miriam Hopkins
, Helen Hayes
.
He designed much of Wallis Simpson's wardrobe, naming a color, "Wallis Blue," for her. In 1937, he also designed the wedding dress and trousseau
of her marriage to the former Edward VIII
(the Duke of Windsor).
Mainbocher's last Paris collections created a storm of controversy. Just as later Dior
's "New Look", the "Mainbocher Corset," a nipped-in waist, radically altered the undefined silhouette of the thirties. This change, linked with the fame of his trousseau
for the Duchess of Windsor, was a beginning of a new phase in fashion, eventually as influential as Coco Chanel
's loosely cut, boxy jackets and skirts. The corset that shaped Mainbocher's last Parisian collection was immortalized in 1939 by one of Horst
's most famous photograph, known as the "Mainbocher Corset." The corset itself, listed in Town and Country
as one of the big events of 1939, caused a furor in France. Mainbocher's corseted waist, defined bosom, and back draping was an abrupt shift in sihouette and introduced the Victorian motifs that were to pervade the forties.
The American Years (1940-1971)
In 1940, Main Bocher relocated his business to New York on 57th Street next to Tiffany's
and established Mainbocher, Inc. As a French-American designer of international reputation, Mainbocher returned to New York with wide publicity, the first American celebrity in the French fashion world.
The corset controversy proved to be a terrific marketing opportunity and the house of Mainbocher teamed up with the Warner Brothers Corset Company and streamlined the design for mass production.
During the Second World War, Mainbocher lent his designs to the American Navy for the creation of the uniforms for the women only division of the Navy, called WAVES
.
In New York, Mainbocher continued to design for generations of discerning women of means like debutante Brenda Frazier
, Doris Duke
, Adele Astaire
, Elizabeth Parke Firestone
, Gloria Vanderbilt
, Lila Wallace, Bunny Mellon, Babe Paley
, Princess Maria Cristina de Bourbon, Kathryn Miller, C. Z. Guest
, and on and on. In 1947, eight of the New York Dress Institute's Ten Best-Dressed Women in the World were Mainbocher clients.
Through the 50s and into the 60s, Mainbocher design was a its highest pitch of purity. A Mainbocher label meant invisible extravagance and deep discretion.
After he achieved fame for dressing some of the world's most famous women, Mainbocher was commissioned to design the costumes for Leonora Corbett in the comic play Blithe Spirit
(1941), for Mary Martin
in the Broadway
musicals One Touch of Venus
(1943) and The Sound of Music
(1959), for Tallulah Bankhead
in the Broadway production Private Lives
(1948), for Ethel Merman
in the musical Call Me Madam
(1950), for Rosalind Russell
in the musical Wonderful Town
(1953), for Lynn Fontanne
in The Great Sebastians (1956), for Katherine Cornell in "The Prescott Papers", for Irene Worth
in the play Tiny Alice
(1964), and for Lauren Bacall
in the musical Applause
(1970).
In 1961, Mainbocher business moved to the K.L.M. Building on Fifth Avenue and continued until 1971 when Mainbocher, at the age of 81, closed the doors of his house.
evening gown; bare-armed blouses for suits; the costume-dyed furs (black mink and black sealskin); novel uses for batiste
, voile
, organdy
, piqué, linen
, embroidered muslin
; the waistcinch; mantailored dinner suits; bows instead of hats; the principle of the simple dress with lots of tie-ons (shirt-like aprons, changeable jackets); the sari evening dress; the "bump" shoulder (a sort of modified leg-o'-mutton sleeve) on suits and coats; the evening version of the "tennis dress" a white evening dress with "V" neck and stole); the revival of crinolines; the rain suit.
Christian Dior
: "Mainbocher is really in advance of us all, because he does it in America."
Christian Lacroix
: "Mainbocher, it's glamour, but with a sense of everyday glamour... It's so pure, so new."
In an interview published in March 2009 in Interview Magazine, Hamish Bowles
, the European Editor at Large for Vogue
stated:
Haute couture
Haute couture refers to the creation of exclusive custom-fitted clothing. Haute couture is made to order for a specific customer, and it is usually made from high-quality, expensive fabric and sewn with extreme attention to detail and finished by the most experienced and capable seamstresses,...
Main Rousseau Bocher (October 24, 1890 - December 27, 1976), also known as Mainbocher. Established in 1929, the house of Mainbocher successfully operated in Paris (1929-1939) and then in New York (1940-1971). According to fashion writer Dale McConathy, the designer's name is not pronounced in the French manner, but instead as MAIN-bawker.
Main Bocher was a native of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, where he studied art at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
and the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. He served in the Army in the World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and stayed on in Paris after the war, working as a fashion illustrator for Harper's Bazaar
Harper's Bazaar
Harper’s Bazaar is an American fashion magazine, first published in 1867. Harper’s Bazaar is published by Hearst and, as a magazine, considers itself to be the style resource for “women who are the first to buy the best, from casual to couture.”...
, as Paris fashion editor for Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
(1922-1929), and eventually became the editor-in-chief of the French edition of Vogue
Vogue Paris
The French edition of Vogue magazine, Vogue Paris, is a fashion magazine that has been published since 1920.-1920–1954:The French edition of Vogue was first issued on June 15, 1920. More information about French Vogue in the 1920s is available in Mary E. Davis's book Classic Chic: Music, Fashion,...
in early 1927. Mainbocher's decision to become a couturier grew out of his years as editor at Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
; he realized that his critical eye and his feeling for fashion might also serve him as a designer.
The House of Mainbocher
The French Years (1929-1939)In November 1929, Main Bocher fused his own name, in honor of his favorite couturiers
Haute couture
Haute couture refers to the creation of exclusive custom-fitted clothing. Haute couture is made to order for a specific customer, and it is usually made from high-quality, expensive fabric and sewn with extreme attention to detail and finished by the most experienced and capable seamstresses,...
, Augustabernard and Louiseboulanger, and established his own fashion house, incorporated as "Mainbocher Couture," at 12 Avenue George V in Paris.
Mainbocher designed expensive, elegant haute couture
Haute couture
Haute couture refers to the creation of exclusive custom-fitted clothing. Haute couture is made to order for a specific customer, and it is usually made from high-quality, expensive fabric and sewn with extreme attention to detail and finished by the most experienced and capable seamstresses,...
dress
Dress
A dress is a garment consisting of a skirt with an attached bodice or with a matching bodice giving the effect of a one-piece garment.Dress may also refer to:*Clothing in general*Costume, fancy dress...
es and gown
Gown
A gown is a loose outer garment from knee- to full-length worn by men and women in Europe from the early Middle Ages to the 17th century ; later, gown was applied to any woman's garment consisting of a bodice and attached skirt.A long, loosely-fitted gown called a Banyan was worn by men in the 18th...
s for an exclusive clientele who included fashion editors like Carmel Snow
Carmel Snow
Carmel Snow was the influential editor of the American edition of Harper's Bazaar from 1934 to 1958 and, after her retirement, the chairman of the magazine's editorial board.-Family:...
, Bettina Ballard, Diana Vreeland
Diana Vreeland
Diana Vreeland was a noted columnist and editor in the field of fashion. She worked for the fashion magazines Harper's Bazaar and Vogue and the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.Born as Diana Dalziel, Vreeland was the eldest daughter of American socialite mother Emily Key Hoffman...
, titles like Elsie de Wolfe
Elsie de Wolfe
]Elsie de Wolfe was an American actress, interior decorator, nominal author of the influential 1913 book The House in Good Taste, and a prominent figure in New York, Paris, and London society...
, Lady Castlerosse, the Vicomtesse de Noailles
Marie-Laure de Noailles
Marie-Laure de Noailles, Vicomtesse de Noailles , was one of the 20th century's most daring and influential patrons of the arts, noted for her associations with Salvador Dalí, Balthus, Jean Cocteau, Man Ray, Luis Buñuel, Francis Poulenc, Jean Hugo, Jean-Michel Frank and others as well as her...
, Lady Abdy, Baronne de Rothschild, pianist Dame Myra Hess
Myra Hess
Dame Myra Hess DBE was a British pianist.She was born in London as Julia Myra Hess, but was best known by her middle name. At the age of five she began to study the piano and two years later entered the Guildhall School of Music, where she graduated as winner of the Gold Medal...
, society like Millicent Rogers
Millicent Rogers
Mary Millicent Abigail Rogers , better known as Millicent Rogers, was a socialite, fashion icon, and art collector...
, Daisy Fellowes
Daisy Fellowes
The Hon. Daisy Fellowes The Hon. Daisy Fellowes The Hon. Daisy Fellowes (née Marguerite Séverine Philippine Decazes de Glücksberg, (April 29, 1890 – December 13, 1962), was a celebrated 20th-century society figure, acclaimed beauty, minor novelist and poet, Paris Editor of American Harper's Bazaar,...
, Mrs. Cole Porter
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
, Syrie Maugham, and stars like Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford was a Canadian-born motion picture actress, co-founder of the film studio United Artists and one of the original 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
, Constance Bennett
Constance Bennett
-Early life:She was born in New York City, the daughter of actor Richard Bennett and actress Adrienne Morrison, whose father was the stage actor Lewis Morrison , a wealthy performer of English and Spanish ancestry...
, Kay Francis
Kay Francis
Kay Francis was an American stage and film actress. After a brief period on Broadway in the late 1920s, she moved to film and achieved her greatest success between 1930 and 1936, when she was the number one female star at the Warner Brothers studio, and the highest paid American film actress...
, Claudette Colbert
Claudette Colbert
Claudette Colbert was a French-born American-based actress of stage and film.Born in Paris, France and raised in New York City, Colbert began her career in Broadway productions during the 1920s, progressing to film with the advent of talking pictures...
, Irene Dunne
Irene Dunne
Irene Dunne was an American film actress and singer of the 1930s, 1940s and early 1950s. Dunne was nominated five times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, for her performances in Cimarron , Theodora Goes Wild , The Awful Truth , Love Affair and I Remember Mama...
, Loretta Young
Loretta Young
Loretta Young was an American actress. Starting as a child actress, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1953...
, Miriam Hopkins
Miriam Hopkins
Ellen Miriam Hopkins was an American actress known for her versatility in a wide variety of roles.Hopkins was born in Savannah, Georgia, and raised in Bainbridge, a town in the state's southwest near the Alabama border...
, Helen Hayes
Helen Hayes
Helen Hayes Brown was an American actress whose career spanned almost 70 years. She eventually garnered the nickname "First Lady of the American Theatre" and was one of twelve people who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award...
.
He designed much of Wallis Simpson's wardrobe, naming a color, "Wallis Blue," for her. In 1937, he also designed the wedding dress and trousseau
Wedding dress of Wallis Warfield
The wedding dress of Wallis Warfield was the bridal gown worn by Wallis, Duchess of Windsor at her marriage to Edward, Duke of Windsor on 3 June 1937 at the Château de Candé. Wallis wore a nipped-at-the-waist dress created by Mainbocher in what was termed her signature colour of "Wallis blue"...
of her marriage to the former Edward VIII
Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
Edward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...
(the Duke of Windsor).
Mainbocher's last Paris collections created a storm of controversy. Just as later Dior
Dior
Dior can mean:* Christian Dior SA, a French clothing retailer* In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth legendarium:**Dior Eluchíl, a Half-elven of the First Age**Dior , a Steward of GondorDior is a surname, and may refer to:...
's "New Look", the "Mainbocher Corset," a nipped-in waist, radically altered the undefined silhouette of the thirties. This change, linked with the fame of his trousseau
Trousseau
Trousseau may refer to:*A dowry*The outfit of a bride, including the wedding dress or similar clothing*A name for the Bastardo grape in some regions*A white mutation of the Trousseau grape, known as Trousseau Gris...
for the Duchess of Windsor, was a beginning of a new phase in fashion, eventually as influential as Coco Chanel
Coco Chanel
Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel was a pioneering French fashion designer whose modernist thought, menswear-inspired fashions, and pursuit of expensive simplicity made her an important figure in 20th-century fashion. She was the founder of one of the most famous fashion brands, Chanel...
's loosely cut, boxy jackets and skirts. The corset that shaped Mainbocher's last Parisian collection was immortalized in 1939 by one of Horst
Horst P. Horst
Horst Paul Albert Bohrmann who chose to be known as Horst P. Horst was a German-American fashion photographer.-Early life:...
's most famous photograph, known as the "Mainbocher Corset." The corset itself, listed in Town and Country
Town & Country (magazine)
Town & Country, formerly the Home Journal and The National Press, is a monthly American lifestyle magazine. It is the oldest continually published general interest magazine in the United States.-Early history:...
as one of the big events of 1939, caused a furor in France. Mainbocher's corseted waist, defined bosom, and back draping was an abrupt shift in sihouette and introduced the Victorian motifs that were to pervade the forties.
The American Years (1940-1971)
In 1940, Main Bocher relocated his business to New York on 57th Street next to Tiffany's
Tiffany & Co.
Tiffany & Co. is an American jewelry and silverware company. As part of its branding, the company is strongly associated with its Tiffany Blue , which is a registered trademark.- History :...
and established Mainbocher, Inc. As a French-American designer of international reputation, Mainbocher returned to New York with wide publicity, the first American celebrity in the French fashion world.
The corset controversy proved to be a terrific marketing opportunity and the house of Mainbocher teamed up with the Warner Brothers Corset Company and streamlined the design for mass production.
During the Second World War, Mainbocher lent his designs to the American Navy for the creation of the uniforms for the women only division of the Navy, called WAVES
WAVES
The WAVES were a World War II-era division of the U.S. Navy that consisted entirely of women. The name of this group is an acronym for "Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service" ; the word "emergency" implied that the acceptance of women was due to the unusual circumstances of the war and...
.
In New York, Mainbocher continued to design for generations of discerning women of means like debutante Brenda Frazier
Brenda Frazier
Not to be confused with actor Brendan FraserBrenda Diana Duff Frazier was an American debutante popular during the Depression era...
, Doris Duke
Doris Duke
Doris Duke was an American heiress, horticulturalist, art collector, and philanthropist.-Family and early life:...
, Adele Astaire
Adele Astaire
Lady Charles Cavendish , better known as Adele Astaire, was an American dancer and entertainer. She was Fred Astaire's elder sister. Her birthdate was often given as 1897 or 1898, but the 1900 U.S...
, Elizabeth Parke Firestone
Elizabeth Parke Firestone
Elizabeth Parke Firestone was the mother of Martha Firestone who wed William Clay Ford, Sr., grandson of Henry Ford. She is the daughter of Guy James Parke and Gertrude Chambers, and daughter-in-law of Harvey Firestone. Between 1915 and 1975, she acquired extraordinary clothes which today are on...
, Gloria Vanderbilt
Gloria Vanderbilt
Gloria Laura Vanderbilt is an American artist, author, actress, heiress, and socialite most noted as an early developer of designer blue jeans...
, Lila Wallace, Bunny Mellon, Babe Paley
Babe Paley
Barbara "Babe" Cushing Mortimer Paley was an American socialite and style icon. She was known by the popular nickname "Babe" for most of her life. She was named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1958....
, Princess Maria Cristina de Bourbon, Kathryn Miller, C. Z. Guest
C. Z. Guest
Lucy Douglas Cochrane was an American stage actress, author, columnist, horsewoman, fashion designer, and socialite who achieved a degree of fame as a fashion icon. She was frequently seen wearing elegant designs by famous designers like Mainbocher. Her unfussy, clean-cut style was seen as...
, and on and on. In 1947, eight of the New York Dress Institute's Ten Best-Dressed Women in the World were Mainbocher clients.
Through the 50s and into the 60s, Mainbocher design was a its highest pitch of purity. A Mainbocher label meant invisible extravagance and deep discretion.
After he achieved fame for dressing some of the world's most famous women, Mainbocher was commissioned to design the costumes for Leonora Corbett in the comic play Blithe Spirit
Blithe Spirit (play)
Blithe Spirit is a comic play written by Noël Coward which takes its title from Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem "To a Skylark" . The play concerns socialite and novelist Charles Condomine, who invites the eccentric medium and clairvoyant, Madame Arcati, to his house to conduct a séance, hoping to...
(1941), for Mary Martin
Mary Martin
Mary Virginia Martin was an American actress and singer. She originated many roles over her career including Nellie Forbush in South Pacific and Maria in The Sound of Music. She was named a Kennedy Center Honoree in 1989...
in the Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
musicals One Touch of Venus
One Touch of Venus
One Touch of Venus is a musical with music written by Kurt Weill, lyrics by Ogden Nash, and book by S. J. Perelman and Nash, based on the novella The Tinted Venus by Thomas Anstey Guthrie, and very loosely spoofing the Pygmalion myth. The show satirizes contemporary American suburban values,...
(1943) and The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music is a musical by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...
(1959), for Tallulah Bankhead
Tallulah Bankhead
Tallulah Brockman Bankhead was an award-winning American actress of the stage and screen, talk-show host, and bonne vivante...
in the Broadway production Private Lives
Private Lives
Private Lives is a 1930 comedy of manners in three acts by Noël Coward. It focuses on a divorced couple who discover that they are honeymooning with their new spouses in neighbouring rooms at the same hotel. Despite a perpetually stormy relationship, they realise that they still have feelings for...
(1948), for Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman was an American actress and singer. Known primarily for her powerful voice and roles in musical theatre, she has been called "the undisputed First Lady of the musical comedy stage." Among the many standards introduced by Merman in Broadway musicals are "I Got Rhythm", "Everything's...
in the musical Call Me Madam
Call Me Madam
Call Me Madam is a musical with a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse and music and lyrics by Irving Berlin.A satire on politics and foreign affairs that spoofs America's penchant for lending billions of dollars to needy countries, it centers on Sally Adams, a well-meaning but ill-informed...
(1950), for Rosalind Russell
Rosalind Russell
Rosalind Russell was an American actress of stage and screen, perhaps best known for her role as a fast-talking newspaper reporter in the Howard Hawks screwball comedy His Girl Friday, as well as the role of Mame Dennis in the film Auntie Mame...
in the musical Wonderful Town
Wonderful Town
Wonderful Town is a musical with a book written by Joseph A. Fields and Jerome Chodorov, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Leonard Bernstein...
(1953), for Lynn Fontanne
Lynn Fontanne
Lynn Fontanne was a British actress and major stage star in the United States for over 40 years. She teamed with her husband Alfred Lunt.She lived in the United States for more than 60 years but never relinquished her British citizenship. Lunt and Fontanne shared a special Tony Award in 1970...
in The Great Sebastians (1956), for Katherine Cornell in "The Prescott Papers", for Irene Worth
Irene Worth
Irene Worth, CBE was an American stage and screen actress who became one of the leading stars of the English and American theatre. -Early life:...
in the play Tiny Alice
Tiny Alice
Tiny Alice, a three act play written by Edward Albee, premiered on Broadway at the Billy Rose Theatre on December 29, 1964.- Billy Rose Theatre production :...
(1964), and for Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall is an American film and stage actress and model, known for her distinctive husky voice and sultry looks.She first emerged as leading lady in the Humphrey Bogart film To Have And Have Not and continued on in the film noir genre, with appearances in The Big Sleep and Dark Passage ,...
in the musical Applause
Applause (musical)
Applause is a musical with a book by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, lyrics by Lee Adams, and music by Charles Strouse. It won the Tony Award for Best Musical and Lauren Bacall won the Tony for Best Actress in a Musical....
(1970).
In 1961, Mainbocher business moved to the K.L.M. Building on Fifth Avenue and continued until 1971 when Mainbocher, at the age of 81, closed the doors of his house.
Mainbocher's Innovations
Mainbocher's innovations include the short evening dress; the famous beaded evening sweaters; the straplessStrapless
Strapless is a 1989 film written and directed by David Hare.-Plot summary:An expatriate American doctor in London allows herself to lighten up when her freewheeling younger sister and a mysterious man enter her life. Her inhibitions released, the beautiful doctor learns that freedom has its own...
evening gown; bare-armed blouses for suits; the costume-dyed furs (black mink and black sealskin); novel uses for batiste
Batiste
Batiste is the softest of the lightweight opaque fabrics. It is made of cotton, wool, polyester, or a blend.-Description:Batiste is a balanced plain weave. A fine cloth made from cotton or linen such as cambric.-Type:...
, voile
Voile
Voile is a soft, sheer fabric, usually made of 100% cotton or cotton blends including linen or polyester. The term comes from French, and means veil. Because of its light weight, the fabric is mostly used in soft furnishing. Full-length curtains in hot countries are made with voile and used as...
, organdy
Organdy
Organdy or organdie is the sheerest and crispest cotton cloth made. Combed yarns contribute to its appearance.-Description:Organdy is a balanced plain weave. Because of its stiffness and fiber content, it is very prone to wrinkling...
, piqué, linen
Linen
Linen is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant, Linum usitatissimum. Linen is labor-intensive to manufacture, but when it is made into garments, it is valued for its exceptional coolness and freshness in hot weather....
, embroidered muslin
Muslin
Muslin |sewing patterns]], such as for clothing, curtains, or upholstery. Because air moves easily through muslin, muslin clothing is suitable for hot, dry climates.- Etymology and history :...
; the waistcinch; mantailored dinner suits; bows instead of hats; the principle of the simple dress with lots of tie-ons (shirt-like aprons, changeable jackets); the sari evening dress; the "bump" shoulder (a sort of modified leg-o'-mutton sleeve) on suits and coats; the evening version of the "tennis dress" a white evening dress with "V" neck and stole); the revival of crinolines; the rain suit.
Quotes and rewards
In 2002, Mainbocher was honored with a bronze plaque on New York City's "Fashion Walk of Fame" in the legendary garment district.Christian Dior
Christian Dior
Christian Dior , was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, also called Christian Dior.-Life:...
: "Mainbocher is really in advance of us all, because he does it in America."
Christian Lacroix
Christian Lacroix
Christian Marie Marc Lacroix is a French fashion designer. The name may also refer to the company he founded.-Early life:Lacroix was born in Arles, Bouches-du-Rhône in southern France. At a young age he began sketching historical costumes and fashions. Lacroix graduated from high school in 1969...
: "Mainbocher, it's glamour, but with a sense of everyday glamour... It's so pure, so new."
In an interview published in March 2009 in Interview Magazine, Hamish Bowles
Hamish Bowles
Hamish Bowles is the European Editor at Large for Vogue and involved in the worlds of fashion and interior design.- Background :As the European Editor at Large for Vogue, Hamish Bowles is recognized as one of the most respected authorities on the worlds of fashion and interior design. After...
, the European Editor at Large for Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
stated:
-
- "I am absolutely crazy about Mainbocher’s clothes. I think they are so subtle, the detailing is so extraordinary, and they are so unbelievably evocative of such a particular time and place and milieu and lifestyle, of absolute subtle luxury. Even his work from when he had his couture salon in Paris through the ’30s—it has a kind of brisk edge to it and a crispness and a precision that is completely American. You can really see why a client like Wallis Windsor would have been drawn to his clothes, and why she became so emblematic of his work. It needs a café-societyCafé SocietyCafé society was the collective description for the so-called "Beautiful People" and "Bright Young Things" who gathered in fashionable cafes and restaurants in New York, Paris, and London beginning in the late 19th century...
client who really understands Europe but has a kind of brisk, no-nonsense American edge."
- "I am absolutely crazy about Mainbocher’s clothes. I think they are so subtle, the detailing is so extraordinary, and they are so unbelievably evocative of such a particular time and place and milieu and lifestyle, of absolute subtle luxury. Even his work from when he had his couture salon in Paris through the ’30s—it has a kind of brisk edge to it and a crispness and a precision that is completely American. You can really see why a client like Wallis Windsor would have been drawn to his clothes, and why she became so emblematic of his work. It needs a café-society