Grès

Madame Grès (1903–1993), also known as Alix Grès and Alix, was a leading French couturier and costume designer, founder of haute couture fashion house Grès as well as the associated Parfums Grès. Remembered as the "Sphinx of Fashion", Grès was notoriously secretive about her personal life and was seen as a workaholic with a furious attention to detail, preferring to let her work do the talking. Grès, best known for her floor-length draped Grecian goddess gowns, is noted as the "master of the wrapped and draped dress" and the "queen of drapery". have had a lasting effect on the haute couture and fashion industry, inspiring a number of recent designers.

Biography

Early life Grès was born Germaine Émilie Krebs to a middle-class French Jewish family and raised in Paris, France. Early in life, she studied painting and sculpting. Grès originally dreamed of becoming a sculptor, but after many objections made by her family she shifted her interests towards the art of fashion design and clothing making. Her preferred media during this time were silk jersey and paper taffeta. After receiving much applause for her theatrical costume designs, Grès became one of the leading designers of that time, designing for many notable figures such as the Duchess of Windsor, Paloma Picasso, Grace Kelly, Marlene Dietrich, and Greta Garbo. In 1942, after marrying Russian painter Serge Czerefkov, Grès began designing under the name "Madame Grès", a partial anagram of her husband's first name. Grès defied their orders and continued to design garments that mirrored the colors of the French flag. Throughout the 1940s, Madame Grès began constructing and perfecting her most notable garments, the elegantly draped Grecian goddess gowns. Then she reiterated in 1983, with a collection whose manufacturing process she wanted to master from start to finish. Grès continued to design at her fashion house up until her 80s when she retired in the late 1980s.

Retirement and death After retiring, Madame Grès lived life in even more seclusion than before. Due to poor business dealings regarding the licensing of her signature perfume, Cabochard, Madame Grès lost the fortune that she worked six decades to build, leaving her living in poverty. The two had one daughter named Anne at some point during their marriage. Grès's daughter is most notable for concealing her mother's death in 1993 for over a year and forging Grès's handwriting in documents.

Awards Named Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 1947 Elected President of Chambre Syndicale of Paris Couture in 1972 Dé d'Or (Golden Thimble) for dressmaking by Cartier in 1976 New York University Creative Leadership in the Arts Award in 1978 Named "Best in Italy” by the National Chamber of Italian Haute Couture