Why fashion continues to pay homage to Madame Grès

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Extraordinary garments still need a body to bring them to life. However, Madame Grès’s Greco-Roman draperies are a rare exception; they just need a pair of eyes to observe them. You may have already seen the French couturier’s work: perhaps in Paris, as part of a recent exhibition with Azzedine Alaïa that showcased the dialogue between the two late designers, or perhaps at the remarkable exhibition Madame Grès: Haute Couture in action Installation in Bourdelle Museum in 2011, where the dresses were displayed in wooden-framed glass cases, resembling Victorian-era natural history exhibits.

Madame Grès Couture Paris by RizzoliPublished this month, Grès is a tribute to the late “Sphinx of fashion.” As curator and historian Olivier Saillard details in the book, Grès – born Germaine Émilie Krebs in 1903 – created body sculptures as much as clothes. “I’ve been copying her style my entire career,” says designer Rick Owens. “I love her almost severe reserve and restraint. She had a monastic, sensual approach.” Similarly, Halston, Sophia Kokosalaki, Issey Miyake and Yves Saint Laurent have all emulated her cascades of silk jersey.

Grès aspired to be a sculptor in her youth, but in 1933 she joined forces with the couturier Julie Barton to open the Maison Alix. By 1942, she had established her own Hellenic silhouettes, often with hoods reminiscent of art deco, and launched the House of Grès, using a partial anagram of her husband’s given name, Serge.

For each collection, I use three pairs of scissors.

Saillard describes Grès as an eccentric workaholic who showed little respect for merchandising. She drove around Paris in a blue Jaguar with mink-upholstered seats, collected 17th-century Dutch paintings and Byzantine crosses, and began work at six in the morning to finish around two the next morning. She made clothes with as little stitching as possible (she detested it), but with an exuberant, confident cut. Saillard quotes her as saying: “Cutting is the most important stage in the creation of a dress. For each collection I produce, I use three pairs of scissors.”

Saillard describes Azzedine Alaïa as “the spiritual son of Grès.” Both designers worked on the body rather than from sketches, cutting fabric instinctively. “Azzedine had the same convictions as her,” says Saillard. “I knew that what characterized their work was the power of repetition, consistency and the desire to go against the changes in fashion to create something stable.”

The Grès house went bankrupt before its founder retired in 1987 (she died in 1993). Despite having a postscript as a Japanese-owned ready-to-wear brand for a time, the name has subsequently languished. However, Grès’s original designs continue to inspire. “Draped jersey is to Grès what metal boxes are to Donald Judd,” Owens continues. “They both became masters of their shapes. I always wanted to be a Sid Vicious version of Madame Grès.”

For many seasons, Owens has designed long, one-shoulder dresses that fall magically around the body. “Haider Ackermann made beautiful stylistic references to Grès in his haute couture collection for Jean Paul Gaultier last year,” Saillard adds. Maria Grazia Chiuri’s Fall/Winter 2024 collection Dior Haute couture dates back to the ancient Olympics, while Pieter Mulier’s current collection Alaia The collection features typical Azzedine/Grès draping, as well as garments made from undulating loops of thread, creating a parallel visual impact.

When Alaïa died in 2017, he had more than 600 Grès dresses in his archive. “His acquisitions were endless,” says Carla Sozzani, a long-time friend and co-founder of his foundation. “He wanted to protect his work for future generations. They were both fascinated by the fluid forms depicted in Greek sculpture, the ultimate example of total freedom in dress. Their first concern was the body, their second, the fabric.” Concerns that have shaped some of the greatest and most extraordinary designs in fashion history, and which are now immortalized in print forever.

Madame Grès Couture Paris by Olivier Saillard is published by Rizzoli at £42.50