Steven L. Grafe, Curator of Art
Important Dates
14 June 1940–25 August 1944: German occupation of Paris.
November 1940: Lucien Lelong’s first visit to Berlin to lobby against the relocation of the Parisian fashion industry to Berlin and Vienna.
October 1944: A project benefiting war relief efforts and showing the continuing vitality of the couture industry is approved by the Chambre Syndicale.
28 March 1945: The Théâtre de la Mode exhibition opens in the Grand Gallery of the Pavillon de Marsan of the Louvre Museum. It remains on view for about five weeks and is visited by more than 100,000 people.
8 May 1945: Germany surrenders (VE Day).
12 September 1945: The Théâtre de la Mode opens in The Prince’s Gallery, Piccadilly, London. Other 1945–46 venues with partial arrays of décors include Barcelona, Stockholm, Leeds, Copenhagen, and Vienna.
1 May 1946: The Théâtre de la Mode opens in New York with new décors and spring/summer 1946 fashions. It then travels to San Francisco, opening on 12 September 1946. It appears in both locations for less than two months.
March 1952: After several years in storage in the City of Paris department store in San Francisco, the Théâtre de la Mode mannequins arrive at Maryhill Museum of Art. By this time, the original stage sets have been lost.
1988–1990: The mannequins return to Paris and are conserved there. Nine replica stage sets (eight from the 1945 Paris exhibition) are created by Anne Surgers.
Noteworthy Personalities
Christian Bérard (French, 1902–1949) served as the overall artistic director for Théâtre de la Mode and was the designer of its Le Théâtre décor.
Béla Bernand (French [b. Hungary], 1911–1967); press photographer who took numerous photos of the staging of the 1945 Paris Théâtre de la Mode exhibition.
Éliane Bonabel (French, 1920–2000) conceived the design of the Théâtre de la Mode mannequins.
Louis Chéronnet (French, 1899–1950); Paris-based art critic and writer who provided the descriptive text for the 1945 and 1946 Théâtre de la Mode catalogues.
Lucien Lelong (French, 1889–1958); couturier who served as president of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture Parisienne from 1937–1945.
Joan Rebull (Spanish [Catalan], 1899–1981) created the plaster heads for the Théâtre de la Mode mannequins.
Robert Ricci (French, 1905–1988); business manager of the Nina Ricci fashion house and PR/Marketing director for the Chambre Syndicale. With Paul Caldaguès and Lucien Lelong, Ricci was responsible for the creation and administration of the Théâtre de la Mode.
Jean Saint-Martin (French, 1899–1988) built the many Théâtre de la Mode mannequins and designed the Croquis de Paris (Paris Sketch) décor.
Anne Surgers (French); theater historian who created nine replica stage sets in 1988–1990.
Paul Verdier (French, 1882–1966) was president of the City of Paris department store in San Francisco from 1904–1966. With Alma de Bretteville Spreckels (1881–1968), he brokered the transfer of the 1946 Théâtre de la Mode to Maryhill Museum of Art.
References and Links
The main reference text for the Théâtre de la Mode is Edmonde Charles-Roux, Herbert R. Lottman, Stanley Garfinkel, et al, Théâtre de la Mode: Fashion Dolls: The Survival of Haute Couture (2002).
The two links below take folks to different online exhibitions about the Théâtre de la Mode. Both are provided as PDF files and can be downloaded. The first is a general history and the second discusses the décors:
The Théâtre de la Mode inspired the use of miniature mannequins during the COVID-19 pandemic. The first (of three)is Dior’s 2020 video response. It is essentially a 15-minute movie:
Moschino (Jeremy Scott) put together a COVID-era runway show with marionettes (7:01 minutes). It too references the Théâtre de la Mode mannequins:
And then there’s this from Walter Van Beirendonck (an 11:50 minute video): “I was inspired by what the couturiers did after the war, the Théâtre de la Mode … So, we made the collection in miniature and dressed them on gold dolls, with makeup and everything … The collection is entitled ‘Mirror,’ references shamanistic practice, and [some] contain panels of mirrored fabric: ”I created 22 looks and they’re all very wearable. I didn’t want to do something difficult to put on.
These links lead to images of the 1949 “Merci Train” (Gratitude Train) mannequins showcasing a 1706–1906 history of French fashion. The project utilized the design of the Théâtre de la Mode mannequins. The first link details the 1949 Brooklyn Museum “Two Centuries of French Fashion Elegance” exhibition. The second and third provide historical overviews, and the last link takes one to a Pinterest page with images of the fronts and backs of many of the dolls:
https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/exhibitions/729
https://prezi.com/co11psciw_h9/dolls-of-the-gratitude-train/
Here is the Maryhill Museum of Art page on the Google Arts & Culture website. It shows 80 prime items from the museum collection:
https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/maryhill-museum-of-art
Finally, drone footage on the museum’s Facebook page showing Maryhill Museum of Art and its Stonehenge War Memorial in their landscapes. There is no accompanying soundtrack.
https://www.facebook.com/maryhillmuseum/videos/688482918530378