Madeleine Vionnet was born in 1875 in Aubervilliers, France. Apprenticed to a seamstress at an early age, she worked in the Paris suburbs in her late teens before joining Kate Reilly, a London dressmaker, in about 1897. She returned to Paris, working with David Bechoff, Callot Soeurs and Douçet, before opening her own fashion house in 1912. Her work was interrupted by the First World War of 1914-1918, but she reopened in 1918, moving to 50 avenue Matignon. She retired in 1939.

Vionnet is celebrated as master of the bias-cut dress, which moulds the body without restriction and flows with its movement. She was at the forefront of the neo-classical style and her label depicts a classical image of a woman poised on a column raising the straps of her tunic above her head. From 1924 her embroidery designs were inspired by Greek vases and Egyptian frescoes. Her bias-cut garments appear simple, but the cut and construction are complex and immaculately executed. During the 1930s she largely abandoned her famous bias-cut dresses in favour of classical-style draping and folding.