Paul Poiret called himself the “King of Fashion” and supported his claim with remarkable opulence in his clothing, a new silhouette and construction techniques based more on draping than tailoring, and a high degree of elegance seldom seen today.

A former pupil of Charles Worth and Jacques Doucet, he was the first designer to exhibit his Parisian collections here in the USA. Unfortunately his success lasted only until the First World War. Called to serve in the French army, he closed his house during the war. When it re-opened, the fashion climate had radically changed in a way that was catastrophic for this designer–he died penniless in 1947.

A special salute to Paul Poiret’s technical ingenuity and originality begins tomorrow at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and continues through August 1 in the Special Exhibitions Gallery, First Floor.

It’s a not-to-be-missed fashion exhibit for a vintage fashionista!

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