Heritage and Innovation: Charles Frederick Worth, John Redfern, And

Heritage and Innovation: but despite his efforts to simplify women’s daytime clothes the usual effect was heavily Charles Frederick Worth, draped and fringed, and as stuffily claustro - phobic as the gewgaw-cluttered interiors John Redfern, and the associated with Victorian English taste”. Dawn of Modern Fashion The Kyoto Costume Institutes 2002 publi - cation of fashions from the 18 th through the Daniel James Cole 20 th Centuries includes a short, partially accurate biography Redfern but with erro - neous life dates that would have him opening his business around the age of 5. Recent scholarship creates a different pic - ture of both Worth and Redfern. Pivotal to the history of clothing, Redfern’s story is only recently being rediscovered, and only in the past few years has a proper explo - ration and assessment begun (primarily by the work of Susan North). North (2008) puts forward the thesis that in the late 19 th century, Redfern and Sons was of equal importance to the House of Worth. It is even possible to assert that Redfern, and his legacy, were actually of greater importance as shapers of 20 th Century styles. An exam - ination of Redfern and Redfern Ltd., in Charles Frederick Worth’s story has been comparison to their contemporaries, calls told often and is familiar to fashion schol - into question not only the preeminence of ars. But while Worth has enjoyed a place of Worth, but also aspects of the careers of Paul significance in fashion history, the story of Poiret and Gabrielle Chanel. his contemporary, John Redfern has been The following explores how Worth and ignored, or at best reduced to mere footnote Redfern, in different ways, shaped the tastes status. Nearly all well-known fashion and fashion system of the 20 th Century – history survey texts give coverage of Worth, themselves, and through the businesses that but scant – if any – mention of Redfern. bore their names after their deaths. Their Contini, Payne, Laver, and Tortora and are intertwined with the major styles of the Eubank, all ignore Redfern. Millbank second half of the Nineteenth Century, and Rennolds, in Couture, the Great Designers their stories are interwoven with important omits Redfern while including some fashion icons of the time, and demonstrate markedly less important designers. Boucher the power of celebrity clientele to the suc - includes John Redfern, but distills his career cess of a design house. Both Englishmen, to a brief, mostly accurate, paragraph. In Worth and Redfern founded family busi - Fashion, The Mirror of History , the nesses; both men died in 1895 and both left Batterberrys interpret a Redfern plate as: there business in the control of sons and “Another Englishman, working in Paris, the junior partners. But in addition to their tailor Redfern, had devised a neat “tailor- similarities, their stories emphasize their made” suit with a short jacket for women, differences. Charles Frederick Worth, and Worth & France, in 1859. Worth set his sights on the Bobergh princess’s business; Mme. Worth paid a call to Princess Metternich, and extraordinarily, Charles Frederick Worth is acknowledged was received. Mme Worth presented the as the father of couture, rising from the princess a folio of designs and the Princess ranks of a notable fabric and dress business ordered two dresses, wearing one to court at in Paris, to leading his own house. As the the Tuileries Palace. “I wore my Worth story goes, Worth was catapulted to success dress, and can say… that I have never seen a by the court of the Second Empire. The more beautiful gown... it was made of white story of Worth’s rise to fame, and his associ - tulle strewn with tiny silver discs and ations with Princess Pauline Metternich trimmed with crimson-hearted daisies… and Empress Eugenie, is a familiar tale but Hardly had the Empress entered the one that has been embellished, even twisted throne-room…than she immediately over time, beginning with the rather mythic noticed my dress, recognizing at a glance memoirs of Metternich herself (1922), and that a master-hand had been at work.” of Worth’s son, Jean-Philippe (1928). (Metternich, 1922) Born in 1825, Charles Frederick Worth Eugenie’s admiration of the dress led to began his career at a London drapery house. her own commissions from Worth and Moving to Paris in 1846, he found employ at Bobergh, catapulting Charles Frederick Gagelin-Opigez & Cie, a retailer of fabrics Worth to success as other ladies of the court and accessories, and a dressmaker. While in patronized the business. their employ, Worth probably began design - This well-known story of Worth’s meteoric ing in the dressmaking department. Worth rise to stardom has recently provoked doubt. married a Gagelin-Opigez employee, Marie Worth scholar Sara Hume questions this Vernet, a model at the store. Leaving in account on the basis that it is derived from 1857, Worth began his own business in part - loving, but unreliable secondary accounts. nership with Otto Gustave Bobergh, with “The legend that has grown up around his “Worth et Bobergh” on the label, and Mme name was built up in large part by memoirs Marie Worth working at the business. by his son and famous clients written well Records indicate that Worth and Bobergh after his death. After Worth had achieved was an emporium, much in the model of fame, his clients such as the Princess Gagelin-Opigez, and sold fabrics, and a Metternich, nostalgically wrote of his variety of shawls and outerwear, with ready prominence under the Second Empire”. made garments as well as made-to-measure (2003, p.80) couture (Hume, 2003, p.7). Hume also questions that the custom of Eugénie de Montijo, the Spanish-born wife Eugenie and Princess Metternich came as of Emperor Napoleon III, was the most early in the decade as 1860, or that he held important female style setter of Europe dur - a place of significant importance in the ing the years of the Second Empire and is French fashion system prior to mid-decade. associated with many fashions of the time. She notes that he did not receive mention in She encouraged glamour at the French French fashion magazines until 1863, and court that contrasted with the reserve of press coverage for the remainder of the Queen Victoria’s Court of Saint James. decade was not plentiful. In addition, Worth According to some accounts, Worth began and Bobergh did not use the designation his association with Princess Metternich, “Breveté de S. M. l’Impératrice ” until 1865. the wife of the Austrian Ambassador to Moreover, the number of existing Worth and Bobergh pieces in museum collections John Redfern of Cowes from this time is less than what such success would indicate (Hume, 2003). Across the English Channel, in the resort Worth’s status during these years has been town of Cowes on the Isle of Wight, the inflated retrospectively, and many other young John Redfern was transforming his dressmaking establishments were successful drapery house into dressmaking business. at the time. In these years, several were well John Redfern began his drapery business established. Mlle Palmyre, Mme Vignon, during the 1850s. Although his business Mme Laferrière, and Mme Roger, all developed slower than Worth’s, he eventu - contributed to the trousseau or wardrobe ally acquired a no less auspicious clientele, of Empress Eugenie, as did Maison Felix, including Queen Victoria, Alexandra and it was at this time that La Chambre syn - Princess of Wales, and Lillie Langtry. dicale de la Couture parisienne began. Also Growing over the course of the decade, the emerging in these years, was the great cou - business was established for dressmaking by turier Emile Pingat, who came to rival the late 1860s, and its subsequent steady Worth’s importance in late 19 th century growth rivaled the importance of The French couture. House of Worth for 40 years. “The frequent sobriquet of ‘inventor of In Cowes, Redfern was able to take advan - haute couture’ gives the misleading impres - tage of the presence of Osborne House, one sion that…Worth introduced a completely of Victoria’s official residences; “the whole new method of designing and selling island benefited economically and socially clothes. In fact haute couture evolved grad - from the need to supply the Household and ually over the almost half century of the attending high society (North, 2008, Worth’s career and represents only a seg - p 146).” His sons John and Stanley joined ment of the new fashion industry which the business during the 1860s. The first developed through the century”. (Hume recorded clothing from John Redfern was 2003, p.13) However erroneous the tradi - noted at the 1869 marriage of the daughter tional accounts are, it is important to note of W.C. Hoffmeiter, Surgeon to HM the Worth’s designs for Eugenie and the court Queen; Redfern provided the wedding dress promoted French industry and had a favor - and the bridesmaids dresses (North, 2008, able impact on the textile mills of Lyon. p.146). Certainly the aristocracy noticed the Soon the house had an impressive client list, high-profile commission, and Redfern including Queen Louise of Norway, understood the power of celebrity to pro - Empress Elisabeth of Austria, along with mote his business in the coming years. stage stars and glittering demimondaines of At this time a change in dress was under - Paris. Although men would dominate the way: more sport and leisure activities were fashion industry in a short time, a man in developing specific clothing, and those the dressmaking business was still novel: women who could afford a diversified, spe - Worth earned the moniker “man milliner,” cific wardrobe sought more practical attire; and by transforming dressmaking from clothing for some activities showed the women’s work to men’s work, the activity affect of the Dress Reform movement.

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