The House of Worth - the fashion dynasty who invented haute couture
Normally when I write about an exhibition, it’s one you can visit yourself if you happen to be able to. This time you definitely won’t, for two very good reasons. First it’s in Paris. But mostly because it ended on Sept 7th, five days before I posted this.
Having been lucky enough to catch it on its penultimate day though, and having learnt so much about a fashion brand whose name I recognised but whose clothes, and certainly whose influence on the fashion industry as a whole, I was entirely ignorant about, I thought you might be as interested in it as I was. Or at least that you’d enjoy seeing their glorious clothes as much as I did.
At the entrance to Worth, Inventer La Haute Couture (Worth, Inventing Haute Couture) in the Petit Palais in Paris
The House of Worth was started by Englishman, Charles Frederick Worth who, having trained with textile merchants in the UK, moved to Paris in 1846 and initially launched a fashion house in partnership with Swede Otto Bobergh. Worth & Boberg opened their headquarters at 7 Rue de La Paix, just off Place Vendome. It would remain their base throughout the company’s long history and act as a magnet for other prestige brands including Cartier and Louis Vitton who custom made trunks to transport the Worth creations to their wealthy clients around the country and the world.
Portrait of Charles Worth painted in 1893
Charles was an inveterate innovator, redesigning the shape of the crinoline, revitalising the silk houses of Lyon and transforming the fashion trends of the time with his love of embellishments such as lace, embroidery and braid.
Whilst his richly ornamented ballgowns set the benchmark for opulence in the 1880s.
Worth and Bobergh parted ways after 12 years and despite his exorbitant prices, orders from customers who included the aristocracy, actresses and an affluent international clientele, poured in attracted by Worth’s reputation and constantly evolving styles. He introduced the notion of seasonal collections and fashion shows which not only boosted sales but also the reputation and influence of house around the world.
Jean-Phillipe and Gaston Worth succeed their father after his death in 1895, continuing to offer Worth’s clientele the evening gowns that were still widely associated with its name, along with tea gowns, worn for entertaining at home, and princess line cut dresses with no waist seam which Jean-Phillipe invented.
and lavishly embellished evening coats and capes.
As the 20th century dawned, the Empire style made a comeback and like other couture houses, Worth produced collections characterised by straight, tapered silhouettes
In a continual adaptation to the evolving lifestyles of its clientele, it produced this, for Worth unusually functional, suit in around 1913
After the First World War, when their headquarters was converted into a hospital, Worth passed on to the hands of Jean-Charles and Jacques, Gaston Worth’s sons, and continued to embrace modernity whilst preserving the house’s tradition of opulence. Jean-Charles had a particular talent for colour and Worth blue became their recognisable shade.
In 1950, the House of Worth was taken over by the House of Paquin and in 1952 the Worth family involvement ended with the retirement of Charles Fredrick’s great-grandson Roger. The house finally shut down its couture operations in 1956 and the atelier, which at its peak had employed 1200 people, ceased to service its luxury clientele after 200 years.
At the height of Charles Frederick Worth’s success his creations were prized by royalty and the aristocracy and regularly seen in the courts of Europe. Empress Elisabeth of Austria wore a Worth gown for her coronation as Queen of Hungary, and the tsarinas of Tsar Alexander and then Tsar Nicholas wore Worth for their respective coronation events. Some of these still wildly spectacular gowns were displayed in the largest and most eye-catching room in the exhibition, perfectly encapsulating the opulence and craftsmanship of the creations of a dynasty whose innovation, artistry and astute business skill left their mark on fashion industry forever.
