Paul Poiret

Fashion designer

French designer who did away with the rigid corset and brought in Oriental forms.

Paul Poiret worked for Doucet and Worth before opening his own house in 1903. His straight, high-waisted dresses from around 1906 could be worn without stays.

He was inspired by the Ballets Russes and the Orient, made harem trousers and lampshade tunics, and was early in selling perfume under his own name. After the First World War his business declined, and he died poor.

• Lampshade tunic
• Sorbet, Poiret’s lampshade dress
• Maison Poiret