Jean-Alexandre Patou (Paris, 1887 – Paris, 1936), known as Jean Patou, was born in the French capital into a family of tanners. His father worked as a suede tanner for luxury items and his mother did housework. After being enlisted in the army, the designer became interested in the world of fashion, and trained as a furrier with his uncle, who taught him the profession.
At just 23 years old, Patou created his own haute couture firm in Paris, but it failed soon after due to financial difficulties. Just two years later, in 1912, the designer opened Maison Parry, a small couture salon located on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, which caused a stir among society at the time due to its innovative designs far from trends. A year later, a famous North American buyer visits his firm and returns to America with the complete Patou collection, which means the consolidation of his brand and its expansion throughout the international market.
Thanks to the success that the American upper classes gave him, in 1914 the Parisian designer decided to expand his business and moved his maison to an elegant 18th-century building, located near the Place de la Concorde in Paris. His firm would come to be called Jean Patou & Cie, and when he is about to present his first collection, he has to cease his activity due to the outbreak of the First World War, in which he participates as captain of a regiment of zouaves Until 1919, the date on which he returned to the city after the war, he did not relaunch his fashion business, but this time he did so with a different perspective, since his experiences at the front gave him a new way of seeing the human relations.
Thus, Patou begins to promote the spirit of teamwork and the idea of the family business, with his sister and brother-in-law as an active part of his firm. The friendship he had with the former tennis champion Raymond Barbas (and also his brother-in-law) made him open his sights to the world of sports, making Suzanne Lenglen’s uniform for the Wimbledon championships in 1922, as well as different sports lines. A wardrobe ahead of its time that was completely impressive, as the athlete put aside long and heavy skirts, corsets and hats and appeared on the track wearing a pleated white cotton skirt, a sleeveless blouse and an elastic headband made of Orange. That is to say, quite a revolution in those times.
In this way, the Parisian designer began to stand on the side of women and their independence, creating a more casual wardrobe free of ties. Well, already in the 20th century, a strong women’s movement was beginning in which women began to break the established clothing standards and fight for their incorporation into the world of work.
In 1923 Patou’s brother-in-law created a division in the company dedicated to perfumery that was very successful thanks to the launch of fragrances such as Amour-amour, Que sais-je? and Adieu, dedicated respectively to blonde, brunette and redheaded women. And in 1925 his golden age arrived with the opening of a store in Monte Carlo, when he also began to sell custom-made bathrobes and bathing suits in the most luxurious spas in Deauville, Cannes and Biarritz. In 1936, at just 48 years old, Jean Patou died in his Georges V apartment.
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