French fashion is world-famous. Renowned French designers are household names – think Coco Chanel, Christian Dior and Yves Saint Laurent, for starters. French style inspires around the globe – if you search the internet for “how to dress like a French woman”, you’ll find an enormous number of entries, more than 700 million when I last looked. But how did France become the centre of chic?!
Janine Marsh explores the history of French fashion to discover how France became the world’s fashion capital.
La mode de demode, le style jamais (Fashion fades – style remains) – Coco Chanel
Fashion by royal design
Dressing well has long been a perk of royals and the rich – think ancient Egyptian beaded tunics, Romans and their pleated togas, and portraits from centuries ago showing the lucky ones wearing velvet and silk clothes, ermine-lined cloaks, pearl-encrusted cloth, and lace ruffles.
But in the 17th century, not long after the Mayflower carried pilgrims to North America, fashion seriously took off in France during the reign of the stylish ‘Sun King’, Louis XIV (1638-1715). Louis’ legacy continues to influence fashion today. Famous for being a control freak, he required his nobles to spend time at his gilded palace of Versailles so he could keep an eye on them and control them, exerting strict rules about etiquette – including what they wore.
During his 72-year reign, men’s and women’s fashions became more extravagant, largely, if not entirely, about Louis wanting to be seen as powerful, and sprinkling his magnificence on those allowed to witness and bask in his glory. But he also made French fashion a real industry by banning imports of textiles. He wanted France to show no reliance on other countries and commanded that France must make its own silk, velvet, lace, embroideries, ribbons, tapestries, buttons, fans, shoes and jewellery. His commands were obeyed – including that all nobles at the court of Versailles had to wear French-made clothing.
The King revolutionised power dressing. The use of buttons spread in France, becoming a luxurious fashion accessory embellished with jewels or painted miniatures. Some servants had livery buttons chiselled with their master’s coat of arms. When the king invented a justaucorps à brevet, a light blue silk jacket, it was an item reserved for the king and a select few nobles who needed written permission to wear them. Fashion became a strategy to constantly keep the nobles on their toes.
The fashion industry took off, and cities all over France became specialist producers – for instance the silk trade in Lyon and lace from Alencon (Normandy). The Made in France, Savoir-faire movement had begun.
Louis also required that textile designers produce new designs and textiles for summer and winter – it was the first time seasonal fashion became intentional. During his reign, the first fashion magazine in the world was created when, in 1678, Mercure Galant, a literary and artistic magazine, published details of the best Parisian clothes shops.
Fashion in France never went out of fashion after that.
How did France become the centre of chic
In 1782, John Adams, the American minister to France and future president of the United States, wrote these words of advice to anyone travelling to Paris: “The first thing to be done in Paris is always send for a tailor, peruke [wig] maker, and shoemaker. For this nation has established such a domination over fashion that neither clothes, wigs, nor shoes made in any other place will do in Paris.”
Almost a hundred years later, Queen Marie Antoinette, wife of Louis XVI, inspired a style revolution that continues to influence fashion today. It’s fair to say that the doomed queen embraced fashion wholeheartedly. She loved clothes, jewellery, hats, shoes and big hair. She made the ‘pouf’ style popular – pads and cushions created structure for lofty, gravity-defying up-dos (whether real hair or wigs) adorned with feathers, ribbons and yet more jewels, ornaments and even a model ship. Legend has it that she purchased 300 dresses yearly and never wore anything twice. She caused an uproar when, in 1781, she wore a muslin dress designed by her favourite dressmaker, Rose Bertin – she used material not made in France, and dressed like a milkmaid. The wealthy of England and Europe lapped up this new “simple” fashion. Marie-Antoinette’s style continues to influence – floral prints and boho fashion included.
The French fashion industry continued to dominate throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. The ballet tutu was invented at the Paris Opera in 1832. Vogue Magazine was founded in 1892. Haute couture was born in 1858 when Charles Frederick Worth, an English fashion designer based in Paris, opened a shop for the wealthy and the upper classes to shop for luxury clothes and accessories. The term comes from the French haute, meaning ‘high’ or ‘elegant,’ and couture – ‘sewing’ or ‘dressmaking,’ and refers to one-of-a-kind, very fancy handmade pieces.
Worth also pioneered the modern fashion show by using live models instead of mannequins to present his creations. The idea caught on in Paris salons and gave birth to the fashion shows we know today – major events presenting new clothing and accessories, generating umpteen columns in newspapers and magazines, millions of social media posts and turning designers and models into celebrities.
Paris Fashion Week continues to hold court, attracting the biggest names in the industry from around the world. Some shows focus on bold and strange looks, models dressed in mobile cages or wearing boots that look like human legs, inflatable rubber trousers, and geometric masterpieces you wouldn’t wear in a million years! Others want to be in Paris to show their designs where fashion began. Montréal based company Wild Rose & Sparrow’s ballet-inspired runway show took place in 2024 at the historic Théâtre du Gymnase Marie Bell in the 20th arrondissement in Paris, and I couldn’t help thinking, as I watched the models strut their ballet-inspired, fairy-tale dresses, just how much French style continues to inspire.
Janine Marsh is the author of several internationally best-selling books about France. Her latest book How to be French – a celebration of the French lifestyle and art de vivre, is out now – a look at the French way of life. Find all books on her website janinemarsh.com
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