More than 150 years ago, rich women from many lands would come to 7 Rue de la Paix in Paris. Here, Charles Frederick Worth dressed them in fine clothes. He started his own shop in 1858, and though he died in 1895, his name lived on, run by his sons and grandsons. People call Worth the "father of high dress," for he was the first to be seen by his own name, not by those who wore his things. He grew well-known around the world and changed both how dress was sold and worn.
The show covers Worth's work from the start up to the 1920s. Back then, stars like Sarah Bernhardt, Sophie Croizette, and Nellie Melba wore his clothes both for the stage and at home. Worth chose what women should wear, not so much by new dress shapes, but by changing the way clothes were made and sold. Today, high-dress shops hold shows two times each year; they let rich people pick new looks to buy.
Before Worth, those who made women's dresses did not get to dream up fresh looks, says Sophie Grossiord, who helps run the Palais Galliera and looks after the old dresses. Back then, rich women brought their own cloth and told the dressmaker what to sew. But Worth had his own ideas; he made things the way he wanted, and buyers picked from what he made. This strong new way meant the dressmaker was now more of a boss than a helper to the rich.
Grossiord says Worth "did not always say yes to what his clients wished." In his store, the clothes were already made, but one could still add trims, lace, or fake flowers. Some clothes could be changed, with short or long sleeves, or as with the "change dress" from the late 1860s.
Worth's looks could be odd and bold, like a dress from 1925 that was made to look like a shut up umbrella, or more old-time, like a dress from 1893, made for Madame Charles-Pierre Pecoul to wear to a grand ball, based on a young girl from Spain in a painting. Worth's shop only ever made one man's suit for someone not born in their own house — for the Duke of Marlborough—and it was their most dear thing.
As France's king fell and the Third Republic grew, dress changed, too: wide skirts went out, and bustles came in. Worth kept up with the times and made his work less showy. But in the 1890s, the U.S. put high fees on goods from France. Now Worth's things were hard to ship and cost much more. Others soon copied his work and sold it for less."
Worth also set the rules we see now, like live shows and using live women to wear new styles. He took a photo of each look and marked it with a name or a number. These steps were to stop fake copies of his work.
"There were buyers you can't even guess," says Grossiord. Worth's own order books are lost, but some from Louis Vuitton still exist. Worth himself was such a star that French writer Émile Zola made him into a book man called Worms, whom all leaders looked up to. Now, more than 100 years later, many still love what Worth made. His name still stands.