Theatre De La Mode

Théâtre de la Mode (Theatre of Fashion) was a 1945–1946 touring exhibit of fashion mannequins, approximately 1/3 the size of human scale, crafted by top Paris fashion designers. It was created to raise funds for war survivors and to help revive the French fashion industry in the aftermath of World War II.

In 1944, Paris, much like many other parts of the world, were in the process of recovering from war.  Rationing was still in  place and they were struggling to rebuild. Having once been known as the fashion capitol of the world, they were keen to let the world know they were still on top. Unfortunately, there was no chance of any designer being able to get the necessary materials for a entire collection. Many couture houses had closed down during the war and some would never reopen.

Step forward Robert Ricci, son of Nina Ricci, and head of commission of public relations at the Chambre Syndicale ( governing organization for haute couture). Ricci’s idea was to organize an event to raise money, the event being a collection of dolls, all to be dressed by the major fashion houses.  Out of the 70 registered couture houses in Paris at the time 53 took part.

The dolls were made of transparent wire, with plaster heads and stood 27 inches high. Each house created 5 designs and their was a total of 237 dolls at the opening of the exhibition in March 1945. Each doll was immaculately dressed, and the details on their clothing was exquisite, proper linings, trimmings,small purses and  powder compacts. Some of the jewelery was even made by Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels.

The dolls were set up on sophisticated backdrops, designed by some of the well known artists of the time,Jean Cocteau, Christian Berard, Jean Saint-Marti and Jean Denis Malcles. The sets were part fantasy, part real, some in recognizable Parisian scenes. The Opening of the exhibit was in March 1945 and it 100,00 people attended it before it moved on to travel around Europe and then the states,before its final stop in San Francisco.

When the exhibit was disbanded in San Fran, it was stored in the City of Paris department store (now Neiman Marcus) and for gotten about for several years until it was rediscovered in the basement in 1952. The original sets and many of the dolls had been destroyed before they were rescued by someone who had connections within the MaryHill museum. The dolls were sent there and displayed in a glass case, mostly to be forgotten about again, until in 1988 when a historian by the name of Aurthur Garfunkel became aware of their existence.