Grès

Madame Alix Grès was one of the twentieth century's most brilliant couturiers. During a career that spanned six decades, beginning around 1930 and lasting until 1988, she developed unique construction techniques that allowed her to craft garments of exquisite sculptural beauty. Born Germaine Emilie Krebs in Paris on November 30, 1903, she renamed herself "Alix" in the early 1930s and appropriated the last name "Barton." In 1937, she married a Russian artist who signed his paintings "Grès," and she took that name when she opened her own couture house. Madame Grès's "Grecian" gowns are readily identifiable examples of her modern distillation of classicism; two other styles that define her work are her three-dimensional, sculptural garments and her geometric designs based on ethnic costume. She is referred to as the great "sculptress" of haute couture because she was able to puff, mold, and shape large quantities of fabric so that they would billow dramatically and boldly around the body. Grès relied upon the inherent structure of fabrics such as paper silk taffetas or heavy woolens to give her cocktail dresses, capes, and coats their dramatic silhouettes. Poor management and the sale of her company eventually led to its closure in 1988. She died penniless one week before her ninetieth birthday, an event that her only daughter, Anne, inexplicably kept hidden for over a year. Madame Grès's influence has been great and her innovations have earned unparalleled respect, but the details of her life are muddled and confusing. She remains a mysterious figure in fashion history.