Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level E , Case 96, Shelf C, Box 106

Été 1939

Fashion Design
early 1939 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Soft rose-pink day dress with sapphire blue accents.
One of 277 dress designs for Summer 1939 bound in volume.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleÉté 1939 (series title)
Materials and techniques
Watercolour drawing on paper
Brief description
Paquin (Ana de Pombo). Soft rose-pink day dress with sapphire blue accents.
One of 277 designs for Summer 1939 bound in volume.
Physical description
Soft rose-pink day dress with sapphire blue accents.
One of 277 dress designs for Summer 1939 bound in volume.
Dimensions
  • Page height: 46.9cm (approx)
  • Page width: 31.6cm (approx)
Credit line
Given by the House of Worth
Object history
Madeleine Wallis became artistic director of the House of Paquin in 1920 following Jeanne Paquin's retirement. Wallis remained at Paquin until 1936, the same year Jeanne Paquin died, when she also left and was succeeded by the Spanish designer Ana de Pombo. During the Second World War, de Pombo returned to Spain, and her former assistant, Antonio del Castillo, became Paquin's artistic director. Under Castillo's direction, Paquin was one of the couture houses that stayed open in Paris during the Second World War. In 1945, del Castillo left to work for the American entrepreneur Elizabeth Arden, and was replaced by Colette Massignac, who was at Paquin until 1949. The Basque designer Lou Claverie succeesed Massignac, until 1953 when he was succeeded by a young American designer, Alan Graham. Graham then designed Paquin's last few collections before the house closed on 1 July 1956.

Although little is currently known about the London branch of Paquin, like that of Worth London, it probably operated under a separate design team. While many London branches of couture houses (such as Schiaparelli) relied exclusively on Paris designs, it is known that the Italian-born designer Bianca Mosca (d.1950) was appointed head designer for Paquin London in about 1937, and stayed at Paquin during the Second World War. Mosca was also concurrently head designer at Jacqmar, and as a member of the Incorporated Society of London Fashion Designers she represented both Paquin London and Jacqmar. Mosca went on to design under her own label from 1946 until her premature death. While the business of Paquin London survived the War (despite its premises being destroyed by enemy action during the Blitz) it appears to have closed around the same time as the Paris establishment.

- Daniel Milford-Cottam, 2013-14
Bibliographic reference
Victoria and Albert Museum Department of Prints and Drawings and Department of Paintings Accessions 1957-1958 London: HMSO, 1964
Collection
Accession number
E.8968-1957

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdJune 30, 2009
Record URL
Download as: JSON