Jacques Fath facts for kids
Jacques Fath (born September 6, 1912, in Maisons-Laffitte, France – died November 13, 1954, in Paris, France) was a famous French fashion designer. He was one of the most important designers after World War II, alongside Christian Dior and Pierre Balmain. His great-grandfather, Georges Fath, was a playwright.
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Career in Fashion
Jacques Fath came from a very creative family. His great-grandparents were fashion artists and writers. His grandfather was a landscape painter.
Fath showed his first fashion collection in 1937. He started in a small two-room studio in Paris. Later, his studio moved to bigger places. One of his models was Lucie Daouphars, also known as Lucky. She later became a top model for Christian Dior.
Jacques Fath taught himself about fashion. He learned by studying museum exhibits and fashion books. He also hired many young designers as assistants. Some of these assistants later became famous designers themselves. These included Hubert de Givenchy, Guy Laroche, and Valentino Garavani.
Fath was known for dressing "the chic young Parisienne." He used interesting materials like hemp sacking and sequins made from walnut and almond shells. His 1950 collection was called Lily. Its skirts looked like flowers. For evening clothes, he liked velvet gowns. During World War II, he designed "wide fluttering skirts." These were helpful for women who had to ride bicycles because of gasoline shortages. Famous people like Ava Gardner, Greta Garbo, and Rita Hayworth wore his designs. Rita Hayworth wore a Fath dress for her wedding to Prince Aly Khan.
Jacques Fath also designed clothes for Eva Perón. A painting from the 1940s shows Eva Perón wearing a white evening dress by Fath. This dress is now displayed in a museum in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The Fath Fashion House
The Fath fashion house closed in 1957. This was three years after Jacques Fath died from leukemia. His wife ran the company for a short time after his death. She worked with three of her husband's former helpers.
After the haute couture (high fashion) part of the company stopped, it started making other products. These included perfumes, gloves, hosiery, and other accessories.
The company has created many perfumes over the years. Some popular ones include Fath de Fath and Green Water. The company's perfume license was held by L'Oréal for many years.
The Jacques Fath brand was relaunched in 1992. It was bought by different groups over the years. New designers were hired to lead the brand. These included Tom van Lingen, Elena Nazaroff, and Octavio Pizarro. In 2002, the company hired a young English designer, Lizzie Disney, to bring back the fashion side of the brand. The company was sold again in 2006.
Film Work
Jacques Fath appeared in the movie Scandal on the Champs-Élysées (1949).
He also designed costumes for several films:
- Entre onze heures et minuit (1948)
- Quai des orfèvres (1947)
- The Red Shoes (1948, costumes for Moira Shearer)
- La minute de vérité (1952)
- Genevieve (1953, costumes for Kay Kendall)
- Abdullah the Great (1955)
Military Service
Fath served in the French Army as a gunner. He received two important awards: the Croix de Guerre with silver star and the Legion of Honour. He was also a prisoner of war for one month. He left the army in 1940.
Death
Jacques Fath died from leukemia on November 13, 1954. About 4,000 people attended his funeral in Paris.
Documentary Film
A documentary film about Jacques Fath was made in 1994. It was called Les Folies de Fath.
Images for kids
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Jacques Fath with his wife in 1950
See also
In Spanish: Jacques Fath para niños
