René Gruau: A Glamorous Legacy

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4 Oct

‘Le Rouge Baiser’ Lipstick, 1949

Unfortunately no longer in print, this coffee-table book features over 100 drawings.Another favourite fashion illustrator of mine is René Gruau (1909–2004), who became renowned throughout the haute couture world in the 1940s and 50s, working with a number of prestigious magazines, including Marie-Claire, Femina, Elle, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Flair, L’Officiel and Madame Figaro. Major designers of the era hired him to bring life to their creations: Balmain, Dior, Fath, Balenciaga, Schiaparelli, Rochas, Lanvin, Givenchy and more. By the age of 18 he was published internationally, in Italy, France and the US, and his career spanned four decades.

What an eye he had! His work is bold, graphic; his unerring brushwork fluid and unhesitating, suggesting a vivid character that is larger than life – full of joie de vivre in fact.

This was his viewpoint that exploded into the dullness of post-war life: full of glamour and flamboyant colour, and sophisticated women wearing large hats and long gloves, casting coy glances. This woman he worshipped, and ‘nowhere did she appear more magnificent than in his works – not on the catwalk, not in fashion photos, and certainly not on the sidewalk.’1

It is so easy for us in the twenty-first century to look back on these decades through a rose-coloured fashion filter, and forget how difficult life must have been. René Gruau in fact chose to ignore daily reality. Instead he portrayed an otherworldly beauty that harked back to his even earlier aristocratic past, his drawing becoming a ‘sumptuous farewell present at the final gala of the old glamour world’2.

Here are some of these women, snapped from this beautiful and oversize monograph on him.

Click on thumbnails for larger versions.
1, 2: Essay by Ulf Poschardt, from 'Gruau', te Neues Publishing Company,
New York 1999

Gruau in his Paris Studio; Maison & Garden, Dec 1960.René Gruau drawing a dress by Pierre Balmain in his Paris home, 1995. Photo Thierry Chomel/Vogue.

Yves Saint Laurent hat; Madame Figaro, Mar 1986

(Left) Jean Dessès; (right) Jacques Fath; both L’Officiel, Summer 1947

(Left) Balenciaga and Jacques Fath, Silhouette, Jan 1948; (right) Christian Dior and Jacques Fath, Silhouette, Fall 1948

(Left) Christian Dior and Jacques Fath, Champs Elysées, Apr 1948; (right) Jean Dessès and Jacques Fath, L’Officiel, Apr 1949

(Left) Madame Grès, L’Officiel 1948; (right) Pierre Balmain, International Textiles, Mar 1953

This woman he worshipped, and ‘nowhere did she appear more magnificent than in his works – not on the catwalk, not in fashion photos, and certainly not on the sidewalk.’

(Left) ‘Le Rouge Baiser’ Lipstick, 1949; (right) ‘Diorama Perfume’, 1950