Poiret, Paris

The designer Poiret was known for liberating women from their corsets, getting rid of all of their petticoats, creating a silhouette that was much more reflective of a woman’s natural curvature. Poiret had designed this garment specifically for his wife, Denise Poiret. It was a very simple mantle of incredible luxury, made out of an almost chestnut-brown silk velvet. It had a kind of iridescence, an inner light. All of the highlights would have a kind of warm fire, but all of the shadows had a kind of bluish cast. We began to study the actual pattern piece, follow the lines of the fabric as it spiraled around the body, and we were astonished to find that it in fact, it was constructed of only one piece of fabric. We realized that what Poiret has done is taken one panel of fabric about fifteen feet long, and twisted it and connected it with just one seam, leaving openings for the sleeves, and ended up with a finished garment. On the one hand, it’s elegant in the simplicity of its resolution, but on the other hand, it’s maddening because you would never think to approach the making of a garment in this way before. Poiret has done something that is unprecedented. But of course, one can create a garment that has all the intellectual genius in the world, and it’s unwearable. What’s so exciting about this particular piece is that Denise Poiret was able to shrug it on as if it were a big stole, or a cocoon, or a quilt, and, with all the drama, to open it up and reveal the vivid color of its interior. The genius of the designer is clear. It’s like hearing something that you always understood to be a true emotion or feeling, but were never able to articulate as well as a great writer has articulated. And I think that’s the beauty of construction: you’re breaking through the mystery of their thinking. I find that inspirational.