Mantle made of yellow wool lined with silk chiffon,worn by Emilie Grigsby, designed by Paul Poiret, Paris, c.1913

Mantle made of bright yellow wool and lined with black silk chiffon. Based on a de-constructed kimono, the mantle is made of two rectangular panels, each forming one side of the garment, folded on the shoulders and joined on one side with a stylised bow. With a slit for the arm and a seam at the shoulder and a belt. The bow on the right side fastens to the hook on its front, and the belt at the right back of the left front fastens to the hook inside its front. One side is put on and fastened, and then the other is put on.

This mantle was worn by Miss Emilie Grigsby (1876-1964) who was a wealthy independent American who came to England from New York. She established a salon which was frequented by writers and the military. She was considered to be one of the great international beauties, with extremely pale, almost transparent skin and golden hair. She was frequently the subject of articles in the New York Times during the early 20th century. Her clothes were purchased from couturiers in London, Paris, and New York, and demonstrated an elegantly avant-garde approach to style. While most of the clothes of hers held by the Museum are from the 1920s, the collection also includes a group of 1910s clothes such as this mantle associated with Paul Poiret, who was a personal friend of Emilie Grigsby.

Historical significance: This mantle illustrates how Poiret was able to combine with rare harmony the bold colours of Fauvism, the vision of Cubism and the exoticism of Eastern garments.

This mantle is made of bright yellow wool and lined with black chiffon. Based on a deconstructed kimono, it is composed of two rectangles folded on the shoulders and joined on one side with a stylised bow. It illustrates how Poiret was able to combine with rare harmony the bold colours of Fauvism, the vision of Cubism and the percieved exoticism of Asian garments at the time. The striking costumes of the Ballets Russes had made Fauvism fashionable.

T.165&A-1967