Pauline Trigère (1909–2002) was a
FrenchFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
-born American fashion designer, known for her crisp, tailored cuts and innovative ideas.
The daughter of a
tailorA tailor is a person whose occupation is to sew and scissor menswear style jackets and the skirts or trousers that go with them.Although the term dates to the thirteenth century, tailor took on its modern sense in the late eighteenth century, and now refers to makers of men's and women's suits,...
, Trigère was able to operate a
sewing machineA sewing machine is a textile machine used to stitch fabric or other material together with thread. Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolution to decrease the amount of manual sewing work performed in clothing companies...
by age 10 and often assisted her
dressmakerA dressmaker is a person who makes custom clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and evening gowns. Also called a mantua-maker or a modiste.-History of dressmaking:...
mother. Shortly after leaving school, Pauline was employed as a trainee cutter at Martial et Armand in the
Place VendômePlace Vendôme is a square in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France, located to the north of the Tuileries Gardens and east of the Église de la Madeleine. It is the starting point of the Rue de la Paix. Its regular architecture by Jules Hardouin-Mansart and pedimented screens canted across the...
,
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...
. While there, she met
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
designer Adele Simpson, who told her about the wonders of the
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
fashionFashion is the style and custom prevalent at a given time. In its most common usage however, "fashion" describes the popular clothing style. Many fashions are popular in many cultures at any given time. Important is the idea that the course of design and fashion will change more rapidly than the...
world.
Pauline Trigère (1909–2002) was a
FrenchFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
-born American fashion designer, known for her crisp, tailored cuts and innovative ideas.
The daughter of a
tailorA tailor is a person whose occupation is to sew and scissor menswear style jackets and the skirts or trousers that go with them.Although the term dates to the thirteenth century, tailor took on its modern sense in the late eighteenth century, and now refers to makers of men's and women's suits,...
, Trigère was able to operate a
sewing machineA sewing machine is a textile machine used to stitch fabric or other material together with thread. Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolution to decrease the amount of manual sewing work performed in clothing companies...
by age 10 and often assisted her
dressmakerA dressmaker is a person who makes custom clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and evening gowns. Also called a mantua-maker or a modiste.-History of dressmaking:...
mother. Shortly after leaving school, Pauline was employed as a trainee cutter at Martial et Armand in the
Place VendômePlace Vendôme is a square in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France, located to the north of the Tuileries Gardens and east of the Église de la Madeleine. It is the starting point of the Rue de la Paix. Its regular architecture by Jules Hardouin-Mansart and pedimented screens canted across the...
,
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...
. While there, she met
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
designer Adele Simpson, who told her about the wonders of the
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
fashionFashion is the style and custom prevalent at a given time. In its most common usage however, "fashion" describes the popular clothing style. Many fashions are popular in many cultures at any given time. Important is the idea that the course of design and fashion will change more rapidly than the...
world. In 1937, aged 25, she moved to New York where she first found work at Ben Gerschel and later became assistant designer at
Hattie CarnegieHattie Carnegie was a fashion entrepreneur based in New York City from the 1920s to the 1960s. She was born in Vienna, Austria-Hungary as Henrietta Kanengeiser....
.
In 1942, Trigère decided to open her own fashion house, which was managed by her brother Robert Trigère. Her first small collection of 12 dresses was taken to department store buyers all across the country and by 1945, Trigère was a respected
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
label. She received her first Coty Award in 1952. In the 1950s she started to produce
costume jewelryCostume jewelry is the first jewelry manufactured as ornamentation for the masses to complement a particular fashionable garment or "costume". Costume jewelry came into being in the 1930s as a cheap, disposable accessory meant to be worn with a specific outfit...
to accompany her outfits, like many other fashion houses at the time. Her clientèle included many famous women such as the Duchess of Windsor, actress
Claudette ColbertClaudette Colbert was a French-born American stage and film actress.Born in Saint-Mandé, France and raised in New York City, Colbert began her career in Broadway productions during the 1920s, progressing to film with the advent of talking pictures...
and singer
Lena HorneLena Mary Calhoun Horne is an American singer and actress. She has recorded and performed extensively, independently and with other jazz notables, including Artie Shaw, Teddy Wilson, Billy Strayhorn, Duke Ellington, Charlie Barnet, Benny Carter and Billy Eckstine...
. Trigère is also cited for designing
Patricia NealPatricia Neal is an American actress of stage and screen.-Early life:Neal was born Patsy Louise Neal, in Packard, Whitley County, Kentucky...
's sophisticated wardrobe in
Breakfast at Tiffany's, although other sources credit
Edith HeadEdith Head was an American costume designer who had a long career in Hollywood that garnered eight Academy Awards—more than any other woman in history.-Early life and career:...
with Neal's wardrobe in the film.
Today, Trigère's vintage dresses and jewelry are greatly sought-after and have been worn recently by the likes of
Winona RyderWinona Laura Horowitz , better known under her professional name Winona Ryder, is an American actress who has appeared in film genres ranging from drama and comedy to science fiction. Her first significant role was as a goth teen in the 1988 Tim Burton film Beetlejuice, which won her critical and...
.
External links