Marie-Hélène Arnaud

Marie-Hélène Françoise Arnaud (; 24 September 1934 – 6 October 1986) was a French model and actress. Working as a house model for the French fashion house Chanel, she was the "face of Chanel" in the 1950s; she also developed a second career as an actress.

Life Arnaud was born on 24 September 1934 in Montmorency in the northern suburbs of Paris. During her time as a model and actress she had high-profile relationships with actor Robert Hossein She was found dead in her bath on 6 October 1986 in Paris, France, with the cause of death unknown, and was buried in Monchy-Humières, near Estrées-Saint-Denis.

Modelling

Chanel The French designer Coco Chanel launched her first post-war collection at her rue Cambon showroom in Paris on 5 February 1954. For the show she approached Marie-Hélène de Rothschild to ask her friends whether they would appear on the catwalk; Chanel had decided to use "personalities", women "with bosoms and hips – with a real shape – they must have elegance", rather than the sylphlike and anonymous models she had employed pre-war whose function was to bring attention to the clothes rather than themselves, following her precept that just as a watch tells the time, a model should "tell the dress".

This troupe of " personality" models included Marie-Eugênia "Mimi" Ouro Preto, later wife of the novelist Count Guy d'Arcangues; Claude de Leusse, later a journalist and novelist; Princess Odile de Cröy, who would subsequently become social secretary to French President Georges Pompidou; Bettina Ballard, the influential editor of American Vogue, remained loyal to Chanel, however, and featured Arnaud in the March 1954 issue, Ballard had bought the suit herself, which gave "an overwhelming impression of insouciant, youthful elegance", and orders for the clothes that Arnaud had modelled soon started pouring in from the States.

Chanel became very close to les blousons Chanel, none more so than to the "incomparable" Arnaud, who was "almost like her shadow", her "fetish model", her "alter ego ... whom she almost considered her equal", Chanel said, referring to Arnaud's early work as a cover girl and the shabby way in which she had been treated by magazines:

It troubled Chanel that Arnaud had to return to her parents' house in Neuilly after a day's work and that she ate alone at a restaurant, so she offered the model a room in a hotel on rue Cambon, as well as meals with her alone or when she was entertaining friends. and Arnaud not only constantly pestered Chanel for her old, worn suits, but also mimicked many of Chanel's mannerisms both in everyday life, such as how she held her cigarette and folded her scarf, and on the catwalk and on photoshoots, including the trademark Chanel stance with one foot in front of the other, stomach resolutely vertical and flat, head held imperiously high with chin up, and one hand thrust into a skirt pocket. Nearly forty years later Karl Lagerfeld, who was appointed as artistic director of the fashion house in 1983, would instruct supermodel Linda Evangelista to copy the "legendary" Arnaud's poses when modelling during the 1992 Chanel spring collection at rue Cambon.

Rumours soon arose that Chanel and Arnaud were lovers; according to Sam Spiegel's biographer, Spiegel loved telling people that she was Coco Chanel's girl because being a lesbian made her a virgin in his eyes.

Arnaud announced in 1960 that she no longer wished to work for Chanel, having tired of the life of a model. Chanel was mortified – Haedrich states that "she could not do without Marie-Hélène" This contretemps occurred at a time when Chanel was almost 80 and speculation as to who would succeed her was rife, with many people thinking that Chanel had selected Arnaud to take over from her. Chanel's throne:

Laroche's first collection was designed "entirely with Arnaud in mind", and although she was not paid for her work, she could keep the clothes.

Subsequent work After she left Chanel, Arnaud set herself up as a designer, launching a line of clothes for the department store Grande Maison de Blanc in the Place de l'Opéra, with five seamstresses working from her Paris apartment. The line was not a success and was short-lived. She also considered opening a boutique in Paris and was convinced that Sam Spiegel was going to back her, but she overestimated his wealth; despite being smitten with her, according to Bill Blowitz, "There's no way Sam [was] going to do that for her". She later worked for the French Tourist Agency and in a gallery.

Acting Like many models of the era, Arnaud branched out into acting in films. She had a number of minor speaking roles, but the biggest film she featured in was her non-speaking role in the musical Gigi, which won a record-breaking nine Oscars in 1958, including Best Picture and Best Costume Design (for Cecil Beaton). Wearing a Beaton-designed evening dress and playing the part of a Maxim's girl, she made a dramatic entrance on the arm of Maurice Chevalier.

Filmography Mannequins of Paris (1956) as Josette Ça aussi c'est Paris (1957) The Twilight Girls (Fr: Les Collégiennes) (1957) as Catherine Royer Gigi (1958) as a Maxim's girl Fantômas (1964) as Lady Beltham