FASHION QUOTE
JEAN PATOU
2022 OCTOBER ISSUE
Written by Andrew Sia
Illustrated by Elita Lam
“The sporty silhouette is absolutely chic”
- JEAN PATOU
Jean Patou was born in Paris on August 19, 1887. The Patou family business was tanning and fur, and Jean Patou worked with his uncle in Normandy before moved back to Paris and decided to become a couturier.
Jean Patou, revolutionized fashion by liberating the female figure to dress without the corset, invented sportswear ahead of his time, and he made tennis champion, Suzanne Lenglen, his first icon. His design, notably the then-daring sleeveless and knee-length tennis skirt. He further shortened the hemline, marketed a pleated skirt to wear in the city, and designed jersey sets with geometric patterns. He popularized the cardigan and moved fashion to natural and comfort. As a visionary fashion designer, Jean Patou invented the monogram, embroidered his initials “JP” onto the jersey swimwear.
Jean Patou founded his fashion house under his same name in 1914, and the same year, the First World War brought the house to an unexpected stop, by then he was only 28 years old. He joined the French army under the zouave, a class of light infantry regiments which was linked to the French North Africa. Immediately he was mobilized shortly after the German invasion of Belgium. He served as a captain.
The war was over in November 11, 1918 and he opened his couture house in 1919.
In 1925, he launched his perfume business with three fragrances created by Henri Alméras. In 1928 Jean Patou created “Huile de Chaldée”, the first sun tan lotion. All his perfume bottles and boxes were designed by Louis Süe, the French legendary painter, architect, designer and decorator.
As a legend, Patou, created a “perfume bar” in the center of his shop on rue Saint-Florentin, a stone’s throw from Concorde, where he offered cocktails and perfumes he made himself on the spot. That was a hit for his clients and their spouses.
Jean Patou was known for inventing the “designer men’s tie” in the 1920s and used the same fabric as the women’s dress collection. They were displaced in the department stores next to Patou’s perfume counter. Today you can find the same tie style among contemporary fashion designers, like Louis Feraud, Timothy Everest, Duchamp and Paul Smith, and Patrick McMurray.
In 1929 the stock market crash, so did the market of luxury fashion, but the House of Patou survived through its perfumes. The best known of Patou’s perfumes is “JOY”, which is a heavy floral scent based on the most precious rose and jasmine. It remains the costliest perfume in the world. “JOY” remains the world’s second best-selling scent and it was created by Henri Alméras for Patou at the height of the Great Depression. It was meant for Patou’s former clients who could no longer afford his haute couture clothing line.
Jean Patou died in March 8, 1936 at the age of 48. His sister Madeleine and her husband Raymond Barbas continued the House of Patou.
Designers for the House of Patou over the years have included Marc Bohan (1954-1956), Karl Lagerfeld (1960- 1963), and Jean Paul Gaultier (1971-1973). Christian Lacroix joined in 1981 and the last fashion collection produced by the House of Patou was in 1987 when the haute couture business closed definitely followed by Christian Lacroix who left to open his own house.
Although the haute couture business closed but the fragrances under the Jean Patou brand continues. It produced for Lacoste and Yohji Yamamoto.
“JOY” continue to be a strong brand and was voted “Scent of the Century” by the public at the Fragrance Foundation FIFI Awards in 2000 and beat its rival “Chanel No. 5”. FIFI Awards is considered as the Oscar for the fragrance industry.
Jean Patou remained as a family-owned business until 2001 when it was bought by P&G Prestige Beaute, a division of Procter & Gamble. In 2011, an UK-based company Designer Parfums Ltd. Bought the Jean Patou portfolio from Procter & Gamble.
In 2018, Jean Patou was acquired by the LVMH group, and a strategic agreement was signed with Designer Parfume for the clothing division.
Throughout Jean Patou’s life, he was described by the American press as “the most elegant man in Europe”. As a socialite, he liked to party and dine at Maxim’s.
In the 1920s, he introduced a whole new experience for fashion without the restriction, but the idea of leisure and relaxation. He released them for corsets.
In his private life, he was a dandy and known for his romance with Louise Brooks and those from the European aristocracy, but he never married anyone.
In 1925, the year of his great success, he opened a shop in Monte-Carlo and he frequented its casino. In those seaside resorts—Deauville, Cannes and Biarritz, he sold bathrobes and swimwear made-to-measure and embroidered in his initials: “JP”. With the jet set he left with a lasting mark with them.
Courtesy of YouTube Video by DK Origins
JEAN PATOU History
JEAN PATOU History | by DK Origins | Dec 9, 2013 | 2:38
Images clipped from YouTube Video: JEAN PATOU History by DK Origins
