Madeleine Vionnet - Revision history

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	{{short description\|French fashion designer (1876–1975)}}		{{short description\|French fashion designer (1876–1975)}}
	{{~~about~~\|~~the haute couture designer~~\|~~the~~ fashion label\|Vionnet (company)}}		{{redirect\|Vionnet\|Vionnet's fashion label\|Vionnet (company)}}
	{{Infobox fashion designer		{{Infobox fashion designer
	\|name = Madeleine Vionnet		\| name = Madeleine Vionnet
	\|image = File:DUNAND Jules John - MADELEINE VIONNET.jpg		\| image = File:DUNAND Jules John - MADELEINE VIONNET.jpg
	\|caption = Portrait of ~~Madeleine~~ Vionnet by [[Jean Dunand]].		\| caption = Portrait of Vionnet by [[Jean Dunand]]
	\|birth_date = {{birth date\|1876\|06\|22\|df=y}}		\| birth_date = {{birth date\|1876\|06\|22\|df=y}}
	\|birth_place = [[Chilleurs-aux-Bois]]		\| birth_place = [[Chilleurs-aux-Bois]], [[Loiret]], France
	\|death_date = {{death date and age\|df=yes\|1975\|03\|02\|1876\|06\|22}}		\| death_date = {{death date and age\|df=yes\|1975\|03\|02\|1876\|06\|22}}
	\|death_place = Paris		\| death_place = Paris, France
	~~\|nationality = French~~		\| education =
	\|education =		\| label_name = [[Vionnet (company)\|Vionnet]]
	\|label_name = ~~Madeleine~~ Vionnet		\| awards =
	\|awards =		\| occupation = [[Fashion Design\|Fashion designer]]
	\|occupation = [[Fashion Design\|Fashion designer]]
	}}		}}

	'''Madeleine Vionnet''' ({{IPA\|fr\|~~ma.də.lɛn vjɔ.ne~~\|pron}}; June 22, 1876~~, [[Loiret]], France~~ – March 2, 1975) was a French [[fashion designer]] best known for being the "pioneer of the bias cut dress".<ref> [https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/madeleine-vionnet-an-introduction Victorian and Albert Museum]</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite web \|title=Madeleine Vionnet – an introduction · V&A \|url=https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/madeleine-vionnet-an-introduction \|access-date=2024-05-01 \|website=Victoria and Albert Museum \|language=en}}</ref> Vionnet trained in [[London]] before returning to [[France]] to establish her first fashion house in Paris in 1912. Although it was forced to close in 1914 at the outbreak of the [[First World War]], it re-opened after the war and Vionnet became one of the leading designers of [[Paris between the Wars (1919-1939)\|1920s-30s Paris]]. Vionnet was forced to close her house again in 1939 at the start of the [[Second World War]] and she retired in 1940.<ref name=":7" />		'''Madeleine Vionnet''' ({{IPA\|fr\|madlɛn vjɔnɛ\|pron}}; June 22, 1876 – March 2, 1975) was a French [[fashion designer]] best known for being the "pioneer of the bias cut dress".<ref> [https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/madeleine-vionnet-an-introduction Victorian and Albert Museum]</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite web \|title=Madeleine Vionnet – an introduction · V&A \|url=https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/madeleine-vionnet-an-introduction \|access-date=2024-05-01 \|website=Victoria and Albert Museum \|language=en}}</ref> Vionnet trained in London before returning to France to establish her first fashion house in Paris in 1912. Although it was forced to close in 1914 at the outbreak of the [[First World War]], it re-opened after the war and Vionnet became one of the leading designers of [[Paris between the Wars (1919-1939)\|1920s-30s Paris]]. Vionnet was forced to close her house again in 1939 at the start of the [[Second World War]] and she retired in 1940.<ref name=":7" />

	Called "perhaps the greatest geometrician among all French couturiers" in 1925 British Vogue, Vionnet is best known today for her elegant [[Greece\|Grecian]]~~-style~~ dresses and for popularising the [[bias (textile)\|bias cut]] within the fashion world and is credited with inspiring a number of recent designers.<ref name=":7" />		Called "perhaps the greatest geometrician among all French couturiers" in 1925 British Vogue, Vionnet is best known today for her elegant [[Clothing in ancient Greece\|Grecian-style]] dresses and for popularising the [[bias (textile)\|bias cut]] within the fashion world and is credited with inspiring a number of recent designers.<ref name=":7" />

	==Biography ==		==Biography ==
	Born on 22 June 1876<ref name="Kirke">{{Cite book\|title=Madeleine Vionnet\|last=Kirke\|first=Betty\|date=1998-01-01\|publisher=Chronicle Books\|isbn=0811819973\|location=San Francisco\|oclc = 39533723\|language=en}}</ref> into a poor family in Chilleurs-aux-Bois, [[Loiret]], Vionnet's parents separated when she was very young and she moved with her father, a toll collector, to Aubervilliers at the age of five.<ref>{{Cite web\|date=2015-08-23\|title=Madeleine Vionnet (1876-1975)\|url=https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/news-analysis/madeleine-vionnet-1876-1975\|access-date=2021-04-04\|website=The Business of Fashion\|language=en-GB}}</ref> Having already left school, Vionnet began her apprenticeship at age twelve as a seamstress alongside members of the [[garde champêtre]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web\|url = http://www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr/francais/mode-et-textile/expositions-70/prochainement-446/madeleine-vionnet-1876-1975/\|title = Madeleine Vionnet, puriste de la mode\|access-date = 13 August 2014\|website = Les Arts Decoratifs\|language = fr}}</ref> After a brief marriage at age 18 – and the loss of her young child<ref name=":6">{{Cite book\|title = The Chronology of Fashion\|last = Stevenson\|first = N. J.\|publisher = A & C Black\|year = 2011\|isbn = 978-1408126370\|pages = 104–105}}</ref> – she left her husband and went to London to work as a hospital seamstress. While in London, Vionnet worked as a fitter for [[Kate Reily]].<ref>{{cite book\|last=Golbin\|first=Pamela\|title=Madeline Vionnet\|year=2009\|publisher=Rizzoli}}</ref>		Born on 22 June 1876<ref name="Kirke">{{Cite book\|title=Madeleine Vionnet\|last=Kirke\|first=Betty\|date=1998-01-01\|publisher=Chronicle Books\|isbn=0811819973\|location=San Francisco\|oclc = 39533723\|language=en}}</ref> into a poor family in [[Chilleurs-aux-Bois]], [[Loiret]], Vionnet's parents separated when she was very young and she moved with her father, a toll collector, to [[Aubervilliers]], [[Seine-Saint-Denis]], at the age of five.<ref>{{Cite web\|date=2015-08-23\|title=Madeleine Vionnet (1876-1975)\|url=https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/news-analysis/madeleine-vionnet-1876-1975\|access-date=2021-04-04\|website=The Business of Fashion\|language=en-GB}}</ref> Having already left school, Vionnet began her apprenticeship at age twelve as a seamstress alongside members of the [[garde champêtre]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web\|url = http://www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr/francais/mode-et-textile/expositions-70/prochainement-446/madeleine-vionnet-1876-1975/\|title = Madeleine Vionnet, puriste de la mode\|access-date = 13 August 2014\|website = Les Arts Decoratifs\|language = fr\|archive-date = 14 August 2014\|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140814031528/http://www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr/francais/mode-et-textile/expositions-70/prochainement-446/madeleine-vionnet-1876-1975/\|url-status = dead}}</ref> After a brief marriage at age 18 – and the loss of her young child<ref name=":6">{{Cite book\|title = The Chronology of Fashion\|last = Stevenson\|first = N. J.\|publisher = A & C Black\|year = 2011\|isbn = 978-1408126370\|pages = 104–105}}</ref> – she left her husband and went to London to work as a hospital seamstress. While in London, Vionnet worked as a fitter for [[Kate Reily]].<ref>{{cite book\|last=Golbin\|first=Pamela\|title=Madeline Vionnet\|year=2009\|publisher=Rizzoli}}</ref>

	Vionnet eventually returned to Paris, working for six years in the [[fashion house]] [[Callot Soeurs]] as a [[toile#Test garment\|toile]] maker. After a disagreement with a manager of the house, Vionnet threatened to leave her post. She was convinced to stay by the eldest of the Callot sisters, Marie Callot Gerber, after being offered a promotion that would mean improvising draped designs on a live model with Gerber herself.<ref name="Kirke"/> Vionnet later praised Marie Callot Gerber as "a great lady" and later remarked that "without the example of the Callot Soeurs, I would have continued to make Fords. It is because of them that I have been able to make [[Rolls-Royce Limited\|Rolls-Royces]]".<ref name=":0">{{Cite book\|title = The Great Fashion Designers\|last = Polan\|first = Brenda\|publisher = Berg\|year = 2009\|pages = [https://archive.org/details/greatfashiondesi0000pola/page/13 13]–14\|url = https://archive.org/details/greatfashiondesi0000pola\|url-access = registration\|first2 = Roger\|last2 = Tredre}}</ref> Her desire for simplicity was ultimately at odds with the characteristic lacy frills of the fashion house.<ref name=":6" />		Vionnet eventually returned to Paris, working for six years in the [[fashion house]] [[Callot Soeurs]] as a [[toile#Test garment\|toile]] maker. After a disagreement with a manager of the house, Vionnet threatened to leave her post. She was convinced to stay by the eldest of the Callot sisters, Marie Callot Gerber, after being offered a promotion that would mean improvising draped designs on a live model with Gerber herself.<ref name="Kirke"/> Vionnet later praised Marie Callot Gerber as "a great lady" and later remarked that "without the example of the Callot Soeurs, I would have continued to make Fords. It is because of them that I have been able to make [[Rolls-Royce Limited\|Rolls-Royces]]".<ref name=":0">{{Cite book\|title = The Great Fashion Designers\|last = Polan\|first = Brenda\|publisher = Berg\|year = 2009\|pages = [https://archive.org/details/greatfashiondesi0000pola/page/13 13]–14\|url = https://archive.org/details/greatfashiondesi0000pola\|url-access = registration\|first2 = Roger\|last2 = Tredre}}</ref> Her desire for simplicity was ultimately at odds with the characteristic lacy frills of the fashion house.<ref name=":6" />
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	== Influence on later designers ==		== Influence on later designers ==
	Madeleine Vionnet is considered one of the most influential fashion designers of the 20th century. Both her bias cut and her urbanely sensual approach to couture remain a strong and pervasive influence on contemporary fashion, as evidenced by the collections of such past and present-day designers as [[Ossie Clark]], [[Halston]], [[John Galliano]], [[Comme des Garçons]], [[Azzedine ~~Alaia~~]], [[Issey Miyake]] and [[Marchesa (brand)\|Marchesa]]. Miyake once remarked that on seeing Vionnet's work for the first time, "the impression was similar to the wonder one feels at the sight of a woman emerging from bathing, draped only in a single piece of beautiful cloth."<ref name=":5" />		Madeleine Vionnet is considered one of the most influential fashion designers of the 20th century. Both her bias cut and her urbanely sensual approach to couture remain a strong and pervasive influence on contemporary fashion, as evidenced by the collections of such past and present-day designers as [[Ossie Clark]], [[Halston]], [[John Galliano]], [[Comme des Garçons]], [[Azzedine Alaïa]], [[Issey Miyake]] and [[Marchesa (brand)\|Marchesa]]. Miyake once remarked that on seeing Vionnet's work for the first time, "the impression was similar to the wonder one feels at the sight of a woman emerging from bathing, draped only in a single piece of beautiful cloth."<ref name=":5" />

	Vionnet inspired fashion designers such as [[Marcelle Chaumont]], mother of French author [[Madeleine Chapsal]]. She served as godmother to Chapsal.<ref name=":3" />		Vionnet inspired fashion designers such as [[Marcelle Chaumont]], mother of French author [[Madeleine Chapsal]]. She served as godmother to Chapsal.<ref name=":3" />
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	{{DEFAULTSORT:Vionnet, Madeleine}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:Vionnet, Madeleine}}
	~~[[Category:French fashion designers]]~~
	[[Category:French women fashion designers]]		[[Category:French women fashion designers]]
			[[Category:French women company founders]]
	[[Category:1876 births]]		[[Category:1876 births]]
	[[Category:1975 deaths]]		[[Category:1975 deaths]]
	[[Category:French expatriates in ~~the United Kingdom~~]]		[[Category:French expatriates in England]]
			[[Category:People from Loiret]]
			[[Category:People from Aubervilliers]]

82.56.39.182 at 18:44, 10 April 2025

2025-04-10T18:44:24Z

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{{short description|French fashion designer (1876–1975)}}
{{about|the haute couture designer|the fashion label|Vionnet (company)}}
{{Infobox fashion designer
|name = Madeleine Vionnet
|image = File:DUNAND Jules John - MADELEINE VIONNET.jpg
|caption = Portrait of Madeleine Vionnet by [[Jean Dunand]].
|birth_date = {{birth date|1876|06|22|df=y}}
|birth_place = [[Chilleurs-aux-Bois]]
|death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1975|03|02|1876|06|22}}
|death_place = Paris
|nationality = French
|education =
|label_name = Madeleine Vionnet
|awards =
|occupation = [[Fashion Design|Fashion designer]]
}}

'''Madeleine Vionnet''' ({{IPA|fr|ma.də.lɛn vjɔ.ne|pron}}; June 22, 1876, [[Loiret]], France – March 2, 1975) was a French [[fashion designer]] best known for being the "pioneer of the bias cut dress".<ref> [https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/madeleine-vionnet-an-introduction Victorian and Albert Museum]</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite web |title=Madeleine Vionnet – an introduction · V&A |url=https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/madeleine-vionnet-an-introduction |access-date=2024-05-01 |website=Victoria and Albert Museum |language=en}}</ref> Vionnet trained in [[London]] before returning to [[France]] to establish her first fashion house in Paris in 1912. Although it was forced to close in 1914 at the outbreak of the [[First World War]], it re-opened after the war and Vionnet became one of the leading designers of [[Paris between the Wars (1919-1939)|1920s-30s Paris]]. Vionnet was forced to close her house again in 1939 at the start of the [[Second World War]] and she retired in 1940.<ref name=":7" />

Called "perhaps the greatest geometrician among all French couturiers" in 1925 British Vogue, Vionnet is best known today for her elegant [[Greece|Grecian]]-style dresses and for popularising the [[bias (textile)|bias cut]] within the fashion world and is credited with inspiring a number of recent designers.<ref name=":7" />

==Biography ==
Born on 22 June 1876<ref name="Kirke">{{Cite book|title=Madeleine Vionnet|last=Kirke|first=Betty|date=1998-01-01|publisher=Chronicle Books|isbn=0811819973|location=San Francisco|oclc = 39533723|language=en}}</ref> into a poor family in Chilleurs-aux-Bois, [[Loiret]], Vionnet's parents separated when she was very young and she moved with her father, a toll collector, to Aubervilliers at the age of five.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2015-08-23|title=Madeleine Vionnet (1876-1975)|url=https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/news-analysis/madeleine-vionnet-1876-1975|access-date=2021-04-04|website=The Business of Fashion|language=en-GB}}</ref> Having already left school, Vionnet began her apprenticeship at age twelve as a seamstress alongside members of the [[garde champêtre]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url = http://www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr/francais/mode-et-textile/expositions-70/prochainement-446/madeleine-vionnet-1876-1975/|title = Madeleine Vionnet, puriste de la mode|access-date = 13 August 2014|website = Les Arts Decoratifs|language = fr}}</ref> After a brief marriage at age 18 – and the loss of her young child<ref name=":6">{{Cite book|title = The Chronology of Fashion|last = Stevenson|first = N. J.|publisher = A & C Black|year = 2011|isbn = 978-1408126370|pages = 104–105}}</ref> – she left her husband and went to London to work as a hospital seamstress. While in London, Vionnet worked as a fitter for [[Kate Reily]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Golbin|first=Pamela|title=Madeline Vionnet|year=2009|publisher=Rizzoli}}</ref>

Vionnet eventually returned to Paris, working for six years in the [[fashion house]] [[Callot Soeurs]] as a [[toile#Test garment|toile]] maker. After a disagreement with a manager of the house, Vionnet threatened to leave her post. She was convinced to stay by the eldest of the Callot sisters, Marie Callot Gerber, after being offered a promotion that would mean improvising draped designs on a live model with Gerber herself.<ref name="Kirke"/> Vionnet later praised Marie Callot Gerber as "a great lady" and later remarked that "without the example of the Callot Soeurs, I would have continued to make Fords. It is because of them that I have been able to make [[Rolls-Royce Limited|Rolls-Royces]]".<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title = The Great Fashion Designers|last = Polan|first = Brenda|publisher = Berg|year = 2009|pages = [https://archive.org/details/greatfashiondesi0000pola/page/13 13]–14|url = https://archive.org/details/greatfashiondesi0000pola|url-access = registration|first2 = Roger|last2 = Tredre}}</ref> Her desire for simplicity was ultimately at odds with the characteristic lacy frills of the fashion house.<ref name=":6" />

Vionnet designed for [[Jacques Doucet (fashion designer)|Jacques Doucet]] between 1907 and 1911.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|title = Dressing Modern Frenchwomen: Marketing Haute Couture, 1919–1939|last = Stewart|first = Mary Lynn|date = 31 March 2008|isbn = 9780801888038|pages = 8–9|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=2Rsc2A0t_BMC}}</ref> Her use of barefoot models and design of loose robes clashed with the style of the house.<ref name=":1" /> In 1912 she founded her own fashion house, "[[Vionnet (company)|Vionnet]]", which closed in 1914 owing to the beginning of the [[First World War]].<ref name=":1" /> Re-establishing the house in 1923, Vionnet opened new premises on [[Avenue Montaigne]], which became known as the "Temple of Fashion".<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.vionnet.com/madeleine-vionnet|title = Madeleine Vionnet|access-date = 13 August 2014}}</ref> In 1925, Vionnet's fashion house expanded with premises on [[Fifth Avenue]] in New York City. She sold designs purchased off the peg and adapted to the wearer.<ref name=":6" />

Vionnet's [[bias cut]] clothes dominated haute couture in the 1930s,<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1080/00076791.2011.617208 | volume=54 | title=Madeleine Vionnet andGaleries Lafayette: The unlikely marriage of a Parisian couture house and a French department store, 1922–40 | year=2012 | journal=Business History | pages=48–66 | last1 = Brachet Champsaur | first1 = Florence}}</ref> setting trends with her sensual gowns worn by such internationally known actresses as [[Marlene Dietrich]],<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url = http://www.avenuemontaigneguide.com/eng/eng/nosguides/madeleine-vionnet-a-giant-in-french-fashion|title = Madeleine Vionnet, a giant in french fashion|publisher = Avenue Montaigne|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140106194634/http://www.avenuemontaigneguide.com/eng/eng/nosguides/madeleine-vionnet-a-giant-in-french-fashion|archive-date = 6 January 2014}}</ref> [[Katharine Hepburn]], [[Joan Crawford]]<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|url = http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/27/vionnet-at-100/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0|title = Vionnet at 100|date = 27 September 2012|access-date = 14 August 2014|website = T Magazine|publisher = New York Times|last = Ensha|first = Azadeh|author-link = Azadeh Ensha}}</ref> and [[Greta Garbo]].<ref name=":3" /> Her loyal clients included mainly European aristocrats and wealthy North Americans such as the [[Robert de Rothschild|Baroness Robert de Rothschild]], Madame Citroën, Mrs Harrison Williams ([[Mona von Bismarck]]) and Lady Davis.<ref name=":7" />

Vionnet's vision of the female form revolutionized modern clothing, and the success of her unique cuts assured her reputation.<ref name=":6" /> She fought for copyright laws in fashion. She instituted what, at the time, were considered revolutionary labor practices: paid holidays and maternity leave, day-care, a dining hall, and a resident doctor and dentist for her workers.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":7" /> The onset of World War II forced Vionnet to close her fashion house in 1939,<ref name=":3" /> and she retired in 1940.<ref name=":4" /> Vionnet created some 12,000 garments over the course of her career.<ref name=":5" />

An intensely private individual, Vionnet avoided public displays and mundane frivolities.<ref name=":7" /> Despite her success as a designer, she expressed dislike for the world of fashion, stating: "Insofar as one can talk of a Vionnet school, it comes mostly from my having been an enemy of fashion. There is something superficial and volatile about the seasonal and elusive whims of fashion which offends my sense of beauty".<ref>{{Cite book|title = Becoming a Fashion Designer|last = Springsteel|first = Lisa|date = 20 February 2013|isbn = 9781118419168|pages = 63|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=stb8SLQYOlMC&pg=PA63}}</ref> Vionnet was not concerned with being the "designer of the moment", preferring to remain true to her own vision of female beauty.

== Styles and technique ==
[[File:Madeleine Vionnet evening gown in ombré silk chiffon crepe, c1932 02.jpg|thumb|Vionnet evening gown, silk chiffon, c.1932 ([[RISD Museum]])]]
[[File:Bias_(textile).png|150px|thumb|The [[Bias (textile)|bias of a textile]] runs at 45 degrees to both the [[Warp and woof|warp and weft]] threads.]]
Alongside [[Coco Chanel]], Vionnet is credited with a move away from stiff, formalised clothing to sleeker, softer clothes. Unlike Chanel, Vionnet had little appetite for self-promotion; her retirement in 1940 marginalised her contribution to the wider movement.<ref name=":4" /> Madeleine Vionnet is quoted as saying that "when a woman smiles, her dress must smile with her".<ref>{{Cite book|title = Contemporary Fashion|last = Martin|first = Richard Harrison|pages = 534|url = https://books.google.com/books?ei=GnrqU5q2NsLb7Aauu4D4CQ}}</ref> Eschewing corsets, padding, stiffening, and anything that distorted the natural curves of a woman's body, she became known for clothes that accentuated the natural female form.<ref name=":2"/>

Influenced by the modern dances of [[Isadora Duncan]], Vionnet created designs that showed off a woman's natural shape.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title = The Great Fashion Designers|last = Polan|first = Brenda|publisher = Berg|year = 2009|pages = [https://archive.org/details/greatfashiondesi0000pola/page/47 47]–50|url = https://archive.org/details/greatfashiondesi0000pola|url-access = registration|first2 = Roger|last2 = Tredre}}</ref> Like Duncan, Vionnet was inspired by ancient [[Art in Ancient Greece|Greek art]], in which garments appear to float freely around the body rather than distort or mold its shape. Her style changed relatively little over her career, although it became a little more fitted in the 1930s.<ref name=":4" />

In the 1920s, Vionnet had created a stir by developing garments utilizing the [[Bias (textile)|bias cut]], a technique for cutting cloth diagonal to the grain of the fabric, enabling it to cling to the body while stretching and moving with the wearer. While Vionnet herself did not invent the method of cutting fabric on the bias, she was the first to utilize bias cuts for the entirety of a garment. Her work contrasted existing garments that utilized bias cutting for trims and embellishments placed on fabric pieces cut along the straight-of-grain.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Rsc2A0t_BMC|title=Dressing Modern Frenchwomen: Marketing Haute Couture, 1919–1939|last=Stewart|first=Mary Lynn|date=2008-03-04|publisher=JHU Press|isbn=9780801888038|language=en}}</ref>

Vionnet's use of the bias cut to create a sleek, flattering, body-skimming look revolutionized women's clothing and carried her to the top of the fashion world. Although sometimes credited with its invention, Vionnet claimed to have applied the technique, already used in skirts, trims, and embellishments, to full-body dresses.<ref name=":4" /> As an expert couturier, Vionnet knew that textiles cut on the bias could be draped to match the curves of a woman's body and express fluidity of motion. She used the cut to promote the potential for expression and motion, integrating comfort and movement as well as form into her designs.

Vionnet's apparently simple styles involved a lengthy preparation process, including cutting, draping, and pinning [[textile|fabric]] designs on miniature dolls.<ref name=":6" /> She recreated full garments in chiffon, [[silk]], or Moroccan crepe on life-size models. Vionnet used materials such as crêpe de chine, [[gabardine]], and [[satin]] to make her clothes; fabrics that were unusual in women's fashion of the 1920s and 30s.<ref name=":6" />

She ordered fabrics two yards wider than necessary to accommodate draping, creating clothes – particularly dresses – that were luxurious and sensual but also simple and modern. Characteristic Vionnet styles that clung to and moved with the wearer included the [[Handkerchief skirt|handkerchief dress]], [[cowl neck]], and [[halter top]].

<gallery>
File:Museo del Traje - MT106249 - Vestido largo.jpg|A 1920s Vionnet evening dress, black with beading
File:Museo del Traje - MT102746 - Capa.jpg|A fringed evening cape, c.1925
File:Vionnet evening gown, embroidered silk net, 1931.jpg|A Vionnet evening gown, embroidered silk net, 1931
File:Madeleine Vionnet evening gown in ombré silk chiffon crepe, c1932 01.jpg|The 1932 gown shown above, draped differently
File:Museo del Traje - MTFD062753 - Figurín de un vestido de Madeleine Vionnet.jpg|A dress by Vionnet, 1932–34
</gallery>

== Influence on later designers ==
Madeleine Vionnet is considered one of the most influential fashion designers of the 20th century. Both her bias cut and her urbanely sensual approach to couture remain a strong and pervasive influence on contemporary fashion, as evidenced by the collections of such past and present-day designers as [[Ossie Clark]], [[Halston]], [[John Galliano]], [[Comme des Garçons]], [[Azzedine Alaia]], [[Issey Miyake]] and [[Marchesa (brand)|Marchesa]]. Miyake once remarked that on seeing Vionnet's work for the first time, "the impression was similar to the wonder one feels at the sight of a woman emerging from bathing, draped only in a single piece of beautiful cloth."<ref name=":5" />

Vionnet inspired fashion designers such as [[Marcelle Chaumont]], mother of French author [[Madeleine Chapsal]]. She served as godmother to Chapsal.<ref name=":3" />

== References ==
<references />

==Bibliography==
*Madeleine Vionnet, Pamela Golbin, Patrick Gries, Rizzoli, 2009
*Madeleine Vionnet, Créatrice de Mode, Sophie Dalloz-Ramaux, Editions Cabedita, 2006
*Madeleine Vionnet, 3d Edition, Betty Kirke, Chronicle Books Editions, 2005
*Vionnet – Keizerin van de Mod, Exhibition Catalogue, 1999
*Madeleine Vionnet, 2d Edition, Betty Kirke, Chronicle Books Editions, 1998
*Vionnet, Fashion memoir series, Lydia Kamitsis, Thames & Hudson Editions, 1996
*Vionnet, Collection Mémoire de la Mode, Lydia Kamitsis, Editions Assouline, 1996
*L’Esprit Vionnet, Jéromine Savignon, Publication de l'Association pour l'Université de la Mode, 1994
*Madeleine Vionnet, Les Années d’Innovation, 1919–1939, Exhibition Catalogue, Publication du Musée des Tissus et des Arts décoratifs de Lyon, 1994
*Madeleine Vionnet, 1876-1975 : L’Art de la Couture, Catalogue d’Exposition, Publication du Musée de la Mode de Marseille, 1991
*Madeleine Vionnet, 1st Edition, Betty Kirke, Kyuryudo Art Publishing Editions, 1991
*Madeleine Vionnet, Jacqueline Demornex, Rizzoli Editions, 1991
*Madeleine Vionnet, Jacqueline Demornex, Editions du Regard, 1990
*La Chair de la Robe, [[Madeleine Chapsal]], Editions Fayard, 1989
*Madeleine Vionnet in ''[[What Am I Doing Here (book)|What Am I Doing Here?]]'', [[Bruce Chatwin]], 1988
*Madeleine Vionnet, ma mère et moi : L'éblouissement de la haute couture, [[Madeleine Chapsal]], Editions Michel Lafon 2010

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090122073856/http://vionnet.com/ The House of Vionnet]
* {{FMD designer}}
* [http://dept.kent.edu/museum/exhibit/spirals/vionnet.htm Spirals & Ellipses: Clothing the Body Three-Dimensionally]
* [http://www.bettykirke.com/articles/threads/threads.html A dressmaker extraordinaire]
* {{cite web |publisher=[[Victoria and Albert Museum]] |url=http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/fashion/object_stories/madeleine_vionnet/index.html |title=Four haute couture dresses by Madeleine Vionnet |work=Fashion, Jewellery & Accessories |access-date=2010-09-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110107204047/http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/fashion/object_stories/madeleine_vionnet/index.html |archive-date=2011-01-07 }}
* {{cite web |publisher=[[Victoria and Albert Museum]] |url=https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O15566/evening-coat-madeleine-vionnet/ |title=Evening coat |work=1936 fur coat |access-date=2014-10-07}}

{{commons category|Madeleine Vionnet}}
{{Grands couturiers}}

{{Authority control (arts)}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vionnet, Madeleine}}
[[Category:French fashion designers]]
[[Category:French women fashion designers]]
[[Category:1876 births]]
[[Category:1975 deaths]]
[[Category:French expatriates in the United Kingdom]]