Vionnet (company)
 |
|
| Founded | 1912 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Madeleine Vionnet |
| Headquarters | Milan, Italy (since 2009) |
|
Key people
|
Goga Ashkenazi, Hussein Chalayan |
| Products | Luxury goods |
| Website | www.vionnet.com |
Vionnet is an haute couture label founded by the French couturier Madeleine Vionnet. Established in 1912, the house of Vionnet closed in 1939 before to be formally resurrected in 2006.
The House of Vionnet opened in 1912 at 222, Rue de Rivoli. Madeleine Vionnet provided one-third of the financing while the remaining investment was supplied by one of her clients, Germaine Lilas, Henri's Lillas' daughter, the owner of the Parisian department store Bazar de l'Hôtel de Ville (BHV). In 1914, when World War I started, Madeleine Vionnet closed the house and set off to visit Rome.
In 1919, the house reopened after the war. Mr. Martinez de Hoz, an Argentinian, joined Mr. Lillas as main shareholder of the house. During the same period, Thayaht, a futurist artist, created Vionnet's logo and started designing textiles, clothing and jewelry for the house.
In 1922, Théophile Bader, owner of the Galeries Lafayette, joined current shareholders Mr. de Hoz and Mr. Lillas in a new venture called Vionnet & Cie and became the majority shareholder. Few months later, on April 15, 1923, Vionnet's new premises opened at 50, Avenue Montaigne. The so-called "Temple of Fashion", a collaboration of architect Ferdinand Chanut, decorator George de Feure and crystal sculptor René Lalique, incorporated a spectacular Salon de Présentation and two boutiques: a fur salon and a lingerie salon. 1923 was a very active year for the house: Vionnet co-founded the first anticopyist Association (L'Association pour la Défense des Arts Plastiques et Appliqués), hosted in the House's premises and directed Vionnet & Cie's managing director; Vionnet introduced fingerprinted labels to authenticate models (each garment produced in Vionnet studios bears a label featuring Vionnet's original signing and an imprint of Vionnet's right thumb); Vionnet & Cie entered into a distribution arrangement with Charles and Ray Gutman, who own Charles & Ray Ladies' Tailors and Importers in New York City. In November, the first collection of Vionnet clothing shown at Charles and Ray was an enormous success.
In 1924, architect and designer Boris Lacroix was appointed art director of the House. From 1924 to 1937, he designed furniture, logos, printed textiles, handbags, accessories and took part in the planning of Vionnet's perfumes.
...
Wikipedia