Born 1912 in Maisons-Laffitte, French fashion designer Jacques Fath presented his first collection in 1937, working out of a two-room salon on Rue de la Boetie. The studio was later moved to a second location on Rue Francois Premier in 1940 before settling into a third location at 39 Avenue Pierre-ler-de-Serbie in 1944. Among his models was Lucie Daouphars, a.k.a. Lucky, a former welder who eventually became the top house model for Christian Dior.
Classic beauties wearing Jacques Fath designs in the early 1950s
A self-taught designer who learned his craft from studying museum exhibitions and books about fashion, Fath hired a number of young designers as assistants and apprentices, some of which later went on to form their own houses, including Hubert de Givenchy, Guy Laroche, and Valentino Garavani.
A popular and occasionally innovative designer known for dressing “the chic young Parisienne”, Fath utilized such materials as hemp sacking and sequins made of walnut and almond shells. His 1950 collection was called Lily, and its skirts were shaped to resemble flowers. For eveningwear, he advocated velvet gowns. During World War II, Fath was known for “wide fluttering skirts” which, The New York Times explained, “he conceived for the benefit of women forced to ride bicycles during gasoline rationing”. His clients included Ava Gardner, Greta Garbo, and Rita Hayworth, who wore a Fath dress for her wedding to Prince Aly Khan.
Fath died of leukemia in 1954 at the age of 42. He was the subject of a 1994 documentary film by Pascal Franck called Les Folies de Fath. Here below is his stunning fashion collection in the early 1950s.
Bettina and Jean Patchett in gowns by Jacques Fath, 1950
Bettina in a Jacques Fath ball gown fit for a queen, 1950
Bettina in evening gown with fern leaf motif by Jacques Fath, Vogue, 1950
Bettina in the “Red Shoes” evening gown by Jacques Fath, photo by Irving Penn, Vogue, September 1950
Evelyn Tripp in dress by Jacques Fath, photo by Erwin Blumenfeld, 1950.
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