Fashion career profile
Paul Poiret
Paul Poiret was a French couturier whose work helped shape modern fashion and the fashion industry. In 1898, couturière Madeleine Chéruit bought twelve of his designs, and he joined Jacques Doucet’s couture house. By the time he left Doucet in 1900 for military service, Poiret had risen to head of the tailoring department. He joined the House of Worth in 1901 and founded his own maison at 5 rue Auber in 1903. His designs moved away from rigidly corseted dress toward garments shaped by drape, vivid colour and silhouettes hung from the shoulders. He used theatre as a presentation platform and worked with artists and illustrators, including Paul Iribe and Georges Lepape, on influential fashion albums. Poiret also built a broader creative business across fragrance and decorative arts. After the First World War he reopened his fashion business, but changing tastes and commercial pressures contributed to its closure in 1929. His professional record distinguishes Doucet, Worth and his own house rather than collapsing them into one founder tenure.
- Role
- Founder, Paul Poiret
- Nationality
- French
- Age at death
- 65
- Career appointments
- 2
- Fashion houses
- 2
- Jacques Doucet — Designer (head of tailoring by 1900)1898–1900 · former
- Jacques Doucet: Head of the tailoring department by 1900Poiret began at Doucet in 1898 and left in 1900 for military service. · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- House of Worth: Joined in 1901; left to found his own house in 1903The Met distinguishes this Worth appointment from Poiret’s earlier 1898–1900 work at Jacques Doucet. · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Maison founded: Founded at 5 rue Auber in 1903The Met dates the founding and describes the designs that led to it. · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Fashion and illustration: Published fashion albums with Paul Iribe (1908) and Georges Lepape (1911)The albums are early examples of Poiret’s effort to connect fashion, illustration and marketing. · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Original house closed: 1929The Met attributes the closure to changing fashion and commercial conditions; later trademark activity is not conflated with this original maison. · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- 1898 — Begins work at Jacques DoucetMadeleine Chéruit buys twelve of his designs in the same year.
- 1900 — Leaves Doucet for military serviceBy this point, Poiret had risen to head of the tailoring department.
- 1901 — Joins the House of WorthGaston Worth assigns Poiret practical garments alongside the house’s evening and reception gowns.
- 1903 — Founds his own maison de coutureOpens his house at 5 rue Auber in Paris.
- 1911 — Stages The Thousand and Second NightThe costume party and its staging turn fashion presentation into theatrical spectacle.
- 1929 — Original fashion business closesThe Met relates the closure to changing tastes and commercial pressures.
- 1903–1929 — Founder & Creative Director — Paul PoiretHistorical appointment · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- 1901–1903 — Designer — House of WorthHistorical appointment · The Metropolitan Museum of Art