THE BLAY ARCHIVES: JACQUES FATH

t.b.r - does the name jacques fath ring a bell? probably not. that's because outside of the inner circles of the fashion industry and the couture world, very few people know who jacques fath was and his significance to fashion. but the fact is if you know dior, balmain, and balenciaga - then you ought to know fath. in his time, fath was an equal to all three and in fact trained some of the world's greatest designers: garavani valentino, guy laroche and hubert de givenchy. all worked as his design assistant before striking out on their own. he debuted his first collection in 1937 after teaching himself to create couture through books and studying museum exhibits. he put his own stamp on clothing by using ingenius materials like hemp sacks, and sequins made from walnut shells. ava gardner, greta garbo and rita hayworth are just a few of the screen sirens who flocked to him. he died in 1954 from leukemia and his company shut down in 1957. it was sold several times, and revived again in the 1990s, only to be sold once more in 2006 by the alliance designer group.

above are vintage looks from the hous of fath. (various websites)