Madeleine Vionnet - "When a woman smiles, then her dress should smile too"

Madeleine Vionnet was a French couturier born in France in 1876. She became known as "the architect among dressmakers". She was extremely successful during the 1920s and was to become renowned for her use of the bias cut, which clung to the body, emphasising a womanly shape. She died in Paris in 1975.


You can see from the photos below, how Vionnet used references from Ancient Greek art in her designs - many of the dresses are form fitting, yet fluid.