Lucien Lelong
The History of the Lelong Fashion House
Lelong was the son of Arthur Lelong who owned a successful textile business in Paris. Born in 1889 in Belle Époque Paris, Lelong grew up surrounded by fashionable women and exquisite materials. He decided to work for his parent’s business at an early age.
Lucien Lelong’s Early Career
Lucien Lelong started working for the textile business and designed a new salon for his parents with black walls and furniture at twenty. The unusual salon looked like a ‘black-lined jewelry box’ according to popular opinion.
He trained at the Hautes Etudes de Commerciales when he was 22 and decided to hold his first fashion show in 1914. Unfortunately the war started on the day that the show was to be held so Lelong decided to cancel it. During the First World War Lelong worked as an intelligence officer and fought in the trenches. He won the prestigious Croix de Guerre and suffered severe wounds from the fighting.
Lucien Lelong’s Fashion House
After Lelong returned from the war he set up his own business. His fashion house became noted for its excellent workmanship and beautiful fabrics. Lelong was unusual because, according to Christian Dior, who worked for him, he didn’t do the designing himself. However, the fashions were embedded with his style and taste.
Lelong developed the kinetic theory of fashion – he wanted his dresses to move with the body. He developed dresses with narrow pleats that allowed women freedom of movement but fell back into place when women remained still. Society women loved his modern dresses and Lelong became very successful in the twenties and thirties.
Some also credit him with being the original designer of the ‘New Look’ dresses with their full skirts and narrow waists instead of Christian Dior.
Lucien Lelong and Natalie Paley
Lelong had been married once when he met the glamorous Princess Paley, whose brother and father were killed by the Bolsheviks. The princess worked in his salon as a saleslady when she met Lelong. Beautiful and mysterious, Natalie became Lelong’s muse but the marriage eventually ended in divorce.
The designer married a third time. His third wife outlived him and married the widower of the great writer, Colette, Maurice Goudeket. She had a son when Goudeket was 71.
Lelong’s Perfumes
In 1924 Lelong extended the business to include perfumes. He liked his perfumes to have an air of mystery and romance. Lelong collected glass and he often designed the bottles himself.
His first perfumes were called A, B, C, J, and N. He is most famous for the scent Indiscreet. Lelong’s scents were extremely popular. The stars of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes were even shown visiting his perfume boutique in the movie!
The owners of the perfume business have re-issued many of Lelong’s original scents.
Lucien Lelong and the Nazis.
Lelong was president of the Chambre Syndicale de La Couture for many years so it was his responsibility to negotiate with the Nazis. They wanted to appropriate the entire French fashion industry to Berlin! Lelong told them that this was impossible because the industry depended on small specialized ateliers whose craft was learned over many generations. Lelong said that: “I told them that it was not a transportable industry, such as bricklaying.” He kept the industry in France but at great cost.
Lelong was accused of collaboration but acquitted when the case went to trial.
Lelong’s Retirement
Lelong retired in 1948 because of ill health, although he went on with his perfume business. The great Parisian fashion designer died in 1958 of a heart attack.
Sources
Dior's New Look
|
What do you think about this article?
More in Home & Style
Latest Articles