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Fashion drawing - Saphir

Saphir

  • Object:

    Fashion drawing

  • Date:

    1953-1954 (published)

  • Artist/Maker:

    Fromenti, Marcel (artist)
    Givenchy, Hubert de, born 1927 (designer)
    Castillo, Antonio, born 1908 - died 1984 (designer)
    Lanvin (designed for)

  • Materials and Techniques:

    Pen and ink, wash and chinese white

  • Credit Line:

    Given by the Editor of 'The Lady'

  • Museum number:

    E.1570-1954

  • Gallery location:

    Prints & Drawings Study Room, level D, case FD, shelf 14

  • Image in copyright

This is an original artwork for a fashion illustration by Marcel Fromenti for The Lady, a weekly magazine for women published since 1885. At the time it was made, Fromenti was the main artist for The Lady's fashion articles. The glamorous women in his drawings modelled both couture and high-end ready-to-wear garments with equal panache and elegance. Couture dresses and suits by leading Paris and London couturiers such as Christian Dior, Pierre Balmain and Norman Hartnell were drawn with the same flair as designs from British ready-to-wear labels such as Susan Small, Roecliff & Chapman, and Marcus. The articles described the fashion developments of their day in simple, accessible terms that contributed greatly to The Lady's popularity with its readers. Pencil notes record the designers, fabric and colour details, alongside technical instructions to the printers as to how these images should be incorporated into the printed page and at what scale.

This drawing is particularly significant as the Textiles and Fashion Department owns an original of the Hubert de Givenchy suit illustrated in it. The suit (see T.35:1, 2-2006) was made for the French actress Leslie Caron (b. 1 July 1931) to wear in a play called Orvet (premiered 12 March 1955) by Jean Renoir. At the time of acquisition it was thought that the suit could have been specially designed for Caron and the production, but Fromenti's artwork and notes show that it was model number 1225 from Givenchy's latest haute couture collection. Fromenti has portrayed the black wool suit with exceptional accuracy, capturing the distinctive skirt composed of wide alternating pleats of silk moiré and wool and the small-waisted jacket with off-centre button fastening balanced by a single pocket flap.

While other designers (including Dior and Balmain) designed costumes for period plays, Givenchy's contemporary designs made the successful transition to stage and film. This was thanks in large to his long-lasting association with the actress Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993), who he met during shooting for the 1953 film Sabrina. The ensuing couturier-client relationship between Givenchy and Hepburn is one of the most famous of its type. Givenchy went on to create Hepburn's outfits for many of her contemporary films, as well as providing clothes for her off-screen wardrobe. His crisply cut, elegant garments with superb detailing were perfectly suited to Hepburn's beauty, enhancing her looks without distracting from them, and looked equally good on film. Films such as Funny Face (1957) where Hepburn played an unwilling fashion model, helped consolidate Givenchy's international fame as a fashion designer. Hepburn recognised her debt to Givenchy, saying in 1985: "My only merit is to have spent thirty years wearing dresses by Monsieur de Givenchy, whose talents and friendship I value most highly".

The other dress in the drawing is a blue pleated silk afternoon dress and jacket, called "Saphir", by Antonio del Castillo for Lanvin-Castillo.

Physical description

Fashion drawing. Afternoon dress and jacket by Hubert de Givenchy of black wool, the skirt with alternating wide pleats of wool and black silk moire, and "Saphir" by Antonio del Castillo for Lanvin-Castillo, a sapphire blue pleated silk, full-skirted cocktail dress with silk bolero jacket. Pencil notes give designer, fabric and colour notes.

Date

1953-1954 (published)

Artist/maker

Fromenti, Marcel (artist)
Givenchy, Hubert de, born 1927 (designer)
Castillo, Antonio, born 1908 - died 1984 (designer)
Lanvin (designed for)

Materials and Techniques

Pen and ink, wash and chinese white

Object history note

In 2006 the Textiles and Fashion Department acquired an original of the Hubert de Givenchy suit shown in this drawing. The suit (see T.35:1, 2-2006) had been made for the French actress Leslie Caron (b. 1 July 1931) to wear in a play called Orvet by Jean Renoir, who wrote and directed the play specifically for Caron. The first performance took place at the Theatre de la Renaissance, Paris, on 12 March 1955.

The suit was exhibited in the major exhibition, 'The Golden Age of Couture. Paris and London 1947 - 1957'. A handful of drawings by Fromenti were also included in the exhibition, although this particular drawing was not identified or linked to the original suit until 2012.

Fromenti's artwork shows that the suit formed part of Givenchy's haute couture collection, rather than, as had been speculated, being specifically designed for Leslie Caron or for the theatre production. Comparing the artwork to the original suit shows that Fromenti achieved an extremely accurate portrayal, the only negligible difference being that the drawing has four buttons to the jacket, while the actual jacket has five.

Givenchy went on to achieve great fame for his designs for the actress Audrey Hepburn. The couturier-client relationship between Givenchy and Hepburn is one of the most famous of its type. They met during the shoot for the film Sabrina in 1953, and Givenchy subsequently went on to design Hepburn's outfits for many of her contemporary films, as well as providing clothes for her off-screen wardrobe. His crisply cut, elegant garments with superb detailing were perfectly suited to the actress's beauty, enhancing her looks without distracting from them. Givenchy was not the only couturier to design for film and stage (Dior and Pierre Balmain both created costumes for period plays), although he was arguably the most successful at bringing contemporary fashion design to the medium, thanks in large to Hepburn so perfectly suiting his designs. Films such as Funny Face (1957) where Hepburn played an unwilling fashion model who wore a large number of Givenchy designs, helped consolidate his international fame as a fashion designer. Hepburn recognised her debt to Givenchy, and in 1985, said: "My only merit is to have spent thirty years wearing dresses by Monsieur de Givenchy, whose talents and friendship I value most highly".

- Daniel Milford-Cottam, March 2012

Descriptive line

Marcel Fromenti. Afternoon suit by Hubert de Givenchy (see T.35:1-2-2006) and cocktail dress, "Saphir", by Antonio del Castillo for Lanvin-Castillo. Drawn for The Lady. 1953-54

Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)

Victoria and Albert Museum Department of Prints and Drawings and Department of Paintings Accessions 1954 London: HMSO, 1963
The full text of the entry is as follows:

"FROMENTI, Marcel

Fashion drawings (on 94 sheets, some joined) based on designs by Balmain, Hartnell, Worth, Dior, Fath and others, for illustration in The Lady, 1953 and 1954.
Each inscribed with the designers' names, description in French, and most dated on the back.
Pen and ink, wash and chinese white.
Various sizes E.1537-1545, 1546(1, 2), 1547-1561, 1562(1, 2), 1583-1587, 1588(1, 2), 1589-1591, 1592(1, 2), 1593-1604, 1605 (1, 2), 1606-1612, 1613(1, 2), 1614, 1615, 1616(1, 2), 1617-1621-1954

Given by the Editor of The Lady"

Materials

Pen and ink; Wash; Chinese white

Categories

Illustration; Drawings; Fashion; Formal wear; Fashion plates; Women's clothes

Collection code

PDP

Qr_O585896
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