Lucien Lelong (11 October 1889-11 May 1958) was a French
couturierA couturier is a person involved in the clothing fashion industry who makes original garments to order for private clients. A couturier may make what is known as haute couture...
who was prominent from the 1920s to the 1940s.
Career
Born in Paris as the son of Arthur Lelong, the owner of a textile shop, he trained at the Hautes Etudes de Commerciales in
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and opened his fashion house in the late 1910s. Poor health caused the end of his career; Lelong retired in 1952.
Lelong did not actually create the garments that bore his label. "He did not design himself, but worked through his designers," wrote
Christian DiorChristian Dior , was an influential French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, also called Christian Dior. He was born in Granville, Normandy, a seaside town on the coast of France.-Early life:Acceding to his parents' wishes, Dior attended the École...
, who was a member of the Lelong team from 1941 until 1946, during which time he created the collections in collaboration with
Pierre BalmainPierre Alexandre Claudius Balmain was a French fashion designer. Known for sophistication and elegance, he once said that "dressmaking is the architecture of movement."...
. "Nevertheless," Dior continued, "in the course of his career as couturier his collections retained a style which was really his own and greatly resembled him." Other designers who worked for Lelong included Nadine Robinson and
Hubert de GivenchyCount Hubert James Marcel Taffin de Givenchy is a French aristocrat and fashion designer who founded the The House of Givenchy in 1952...
.
Among Lelong's clients were Marie Duhamel, Jeanne Ternisien (wife of the banker Georges Nelze), the Duchess de la Rochefoucauld,
Greta GarboGreta Garbo was a Swedish actress during Hollywood's silent film period and part of its Golden Age....
,
Gloria SwansonGloria Swanson was an American actress. She was most prominent during the silent film era as both an actress and a fashion icon, especially under the direction of Cecil B. DeMille. She was also one of the first stars to challenge the Hays Code by producing the banned Sadie Thompson in 1928...
,
ColetteColette was the pen name of the French novelist Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette . She is best known, at least in the English-speaking world, for her novel Gigi, which provided the plot for a Lerner & Loewe musical film and stage musical.- Early life, marriage :Colette was born in...
, and Rose Kennedy.
Marriages
Lelong was married three times.
His first wife, whom he divorced on 16 July 1927, was Anne-Marie Audoy.
He married on 10 August 1927, as his second wife, Princess
Natalie PaleyPrincess Natalia Pavlovna Paley was a French-born fashion icon, socialite, and film actress who was a first cousin of the last Russian emperor, Nicholas II.-Life:...
(1905-1981), who had worked as a saleswoman in the Lelong perfume department. She was a daughter of
Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of RussiaGrand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia was the eighth child of Tsar Alexander II of Russia by his first wife Empress Maria Alexandrovna. His birth was commemorated by the naming of the city of Pavlodar in Kazakhstan...
and his morganatic wife,
Olga KarnovichPrincess Olga Valerianovna Paley , was the second wife of Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia. -Early life and first marriage:...
. They divorced in 1937.
Lelong's third wife, who outlived him, went on to marry the French journalist Maurice Goudeket, the widower of
ColetteColette was the pen name of the French novelist Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette . She is best known, at least in the English-speaking world, for her novel Gigi, which provided the plot for a Lerner & Loewe musical film and stage musical.- Early life, marriage :Colette was born in...
.
http://www.nytimes.com/books/99/10/17/specials/colette-delights.html