PRESS ARTICLES MENTIONING CHARLES FREDERICK WORTH
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The collection, in flesh pink and black, combines the modern technology of stretch fibres and lace with the corsetry techniques Worth used to create exquisite hourglass gowns for Queen Alexandra, wife of Edward VII; the Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III; the English actress Sarah Bernhardt; and many of Paris's famous courtesans of the time, such as La Belle Otero.
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| Lingerie worth a second glance | |
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Suzy Menkes IHT
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"There is no couture lingerie - this is a first," said Mounir Moufarrige, who has taken a stake in the Worth perfume group that has annual revenues of $65 million on the strength of the famous name. Since a new fragrance is due out in the spring, Moufarrige tapped the Italian designer Giovanni Bedin, 28, who worked at Karl Lagerfeld and Thierry Mugler before founding his own collection, and asked him to envisage what might have been the intimate apparel of Pauline von Metternich, Sarah Bernhardt and the grandes horizontales, or courtesans, of the Worth era from 1845-95.
It is hard to imagine Edwardian bustles concealing a "string" with a downward stretch designed for low-slung hipster pants. But that is the kind of updated Edwardian erotica the models wore alongside a marigold period Worth costume and re-creations of his satin ball gowns.
"The universe of Worth is so extraordinary," says Bedin. "I hope we can move from here to clothes in the coming months." Meanwhile, the lingerie line will go on show at the Paris Salon de Lingerie.
"There is no couture lingerie - this is a first," said Mounir Moufarrige, who has taken a stake in the Worth perfume group that has annual revenues of $65 million on the strength of the famous name. Since a new fragrance is due out in the spring, Moufarrige tapped the Italian designer Giovanni Bedin, 28, who worked at Karl Lagerfeld and Thierry Mugler before founding his own collection, and asked him to envisage what might have been the intimate apparel of Pauline von Metternich, Sarah Bernhardt and the grandes horizontales, or courtesans, of the Worth era from 1845-95.
It is hard to imagine Edwardian bustles concealing a "string" with a downward stretch designed for low-slung hipster pants. But that is the kind of updated Edwardian erotica the models wore alongside a marigold period Worth costume and re-creations of his satin ball gowns.
"The universe of Worth is so extraordinary," says Bedin. "I hope we can move from here to clothes in the coming months." Meanwhile, the lingerie line will go on show at the Paris Salon de Lingerie.
"There is no couture lingerie - this is a first," said Mounir Moufarrige, who has taken a stake in the Worth perfume group that has annual revenues of $65 million on the strength of the famous name. Since a new fragrance is due out in the spring, Moufarrige tapped the Italian designer Giovanni Bedin, 28, who worked at Karl Lagerfeld and Thierry Mugler before founding his own collection, and asked him to envisage what might have been the intimate apparel of Pauline von Metternich, Sarah Bernhardt and the grandes horizontales, or courtesans, of the Worth era from 1845-95.
It is hard to imagine Edwardian bustles concealing a "string" with a downward stretch designed for low-slung hipster pants. But that is the kind of updated Edwardian erotica the models wore alongside a marigold period Worth costume and re-creations of his satin ball gowns.
"The universe of Worth is so extraordinary," says Bedin. "I hope we can move from here to clothes in the coming months." Meanwhile, the lingerie line will go on show at the Paris Salon de Lingerie.
LONDON, September 12, 2002 – Russell Sage
opened London fashion week for spring 2003 by invoking the name of fellow Brit
Charles Frederick Worth, the Victorian gentleman who set up the very first haute
couture house in Paris. Seeking to restore pride in the grand, almost-lost
tradition of English craftsmanship, Sage enlisted the help of centuries-old U.K.
businesses, from tailors Davies & Son and shirtmakers Turnbull & Asser to Lobb &
Co. (shoes) and the Gainsborough Silk Weaving Company (brocades).
Though there’s no doubting Sage’s wish to support his country’s heritage, he
seemed to be at a loss in terms of how to harness all that history. Reverting to
his own background as a dealer in antique furnishing fabrics, he added fragments
of precious Chinese silks, taffetas and velvets—all intrinsically beautiful in
dusty, time-faded colors—to the mix. But he struggled to find a silhouette on
which to pin all these marvelous materials. His conceptual thread wandered from
vaguely 1960s black dresses to obis fastened with vast padded bows in back to
1950s swimsuit shapes made in brocade.
The designer’s best moment was a series of high-waisted dresses, in a rainbow of
coral, pistachio, sky blue and violet, detailed with inserts of reclaimed
crushed velvet. For some in the audience, though, the only place to look was
forward—to his next project, the interior design of a château belonging to the
cognac house Hine (a commission from LVMH). Dressing walls, windows and
furniture instead of girls just might be the best use of Sage’s talents.
– Sarah Mower