1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,520 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey 2 00:00:06,559 --> 00:00:09,160 Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren bob Obam here with an episode from 3 00:00:09,160 --> 00:00:13,640 Speaker 1: our podcasts archives. Not so long ago, clothing fashions came 4 00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:16,400 Speaker 1: and went, but there was no such thing as fashion 5 00:00:16,520 --> 00:00:20,960 Speaker 1: brands or designers. Today's classic delves into how all that 6 00:00:21,040 --> 00:00:26,320 Speaker 1: changed due to one innovator in the eighteen hundreds. Hey 7 00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:29,040 Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren vog obam here. It's hard for me 8 00:00:29,080 --> 00:00:31,680 Speaker 1: to imagine myself or most of my friends and neighbors, 9 00:00:31,800 --> 00:00:34,440 Speaker 1: let alone someone like Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, 10 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:38,160 Speaker 1: designing their own dresses. But that's what all women did 11 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:41,560 Speaker 1: as recently as the nineteenth century Royalty and common are alike. 12 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:44,960 Speaker 1: There had never been such a job as fashion designer. 13 00:00:45,520 --> 00:00:48,720 Speaker 1: Then Charles Frederick Worth arrived on the seed and created 14 00:00:50,040 --> 00:00:53,880 Speaker 1: literally translated it means high dressmaking, and the fashion design 15 00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:58,440 Speaker 1: industry was born. Opator refers to garments created for a 16 00:00:58,480 --> 00:01:02,120 Speaker 1: specific client. Ashion houses such as Chanelle and Christian Duore 17 00:01:02,360 --> 00:01:06,000 Speaker 1: are official hook coutur establishments because they meet specific requirements, 18 00:01:06,280 --> 00:01:09,360 Speaker 1: which include designing made to order clothes for private clients 19 00:01:09,480 --> 00:01:12,119 Speaker 1: via more than one fitting, having a full time staff 20 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:14,959 Speaker 1: of at least fifteen and presenting collections of at least 21 00:01:14,959 --> 00:01:19,440 Speaker 1: fifty original designs to the public twice annually. Worth came 22 00:01:19,520 --> 00:01:22,400 Speaker 1: up with the idea of fashion designers and fashion houses 23 00:01:22,560 --> 00:01:25,640 Speaker 1: in the middle of the nineteenth century. An Englishman born 24 00:01:25,680 --> 00:01:29,319 Speaker 1: in eight Worth worked for textile merchants as a young adult, 25 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:33,399 Speaker 1: where he learned all about fabrics and dressmaking. He eventually 26 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:36,280 Speaker 1: relocated to Paris, where he secured a job with company 27 00:01:36,319 --> 00:01:40,080 Speaker 1: that sold luxury textiles. Itching to design his own garments, 28 00:01:40,080 --> 00:01:43,600 Speaker 1: Worth approached management with a novel idea, create a new 29 00:01:43,600 --> 00:01:47,400 Speaker 1: department within the company dedicated to designing and producing dresses, 30 00:01:47,640 --> 00:01:50,920 Speaker 1: and allow Worth to be the designer. It doesn't sound 31 00:01:50,960 --> 00:01:55,280 Speaker 1: shocking today, but management bulked. Dressmakers were not well regarded 32 00:01:55,320 --> 00:01:59,600 Speaker 1: back then and mail designers were virtually unheard of, but eventually, 33 00:01:59,640 --> 00:02:03,680 Speaker 1: in eighteen one they agreed. Soon Worth was heralded as 34 00:02:03,680 --> 00:02:07,320 Speaker 1: a talented tastemaker and clients sought his opinion on fashion. 35 00:02:08,200 --> 00:02:11,120 Speaker 1: In eighteen fifty eight, Worth left the textile company and, 36 00:02:11,360 --> 00:02:14,840 Speaker 1: together with Otto Beaubat, opened his own company, the Parisian 37 00:02:14,880 --> 00:02:19,079 Speaker 1: based House of Worth. His designs typically featured lavish fabrics 38 00:02:19,080 --> 00:02:24,360 Speaker 1: and trimmings. Not surprisingly, he also obsessed over proper fit. Soon, Worth, 39 00:02:24,480 --> 00:02:28,080 Speaker 1: who considered himself an artist, began insisting clients accept his 40 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:31,840 Speaker 1: vision and designs even if they disagreed, although some deemed 41 00:02:31,919 --> 00:02:34,560 Speaker 1: him a bit of a tyrant. Client's acquiesced and the 42 00:02:34,560 --> 00:02:37,640 Speaker 1: profession of fashion designer as we know it today was born. 43 00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:41,600 Speaker 1: Worth dissolved his partnership with Boubat in eighteen seventy one, 44 00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:45,000 Speaker 1: and the House of Worth was solely his. By this time, 45 00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:48,120 Speaker 1: he counted Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon the third, as 46 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:51,200 Speaker 1: one of his patrons. Her influence helped boost his career, 47 00:02:51,560 --> 00:02:54,360 Speaker 1: and eventually he was dressing other prominent women of the day, 48 00:02:54,560 --> 00:02:58,360 Speaker 1: including famed stage actor Sarah Bernhardt and opera star Nellie Melba. 49 00:02:59,560 --> 00:03:02,440 Speaker 1: The Englishman's contributions to the field also include being one 50 00:03:02,480 --> 00:03:04,840 Speaker 1: of the first fashion designers to sew his name into 51 00:03:04,840 --> 00:03:08,480 Speaker 1: garments and to create maternity wear. Owen Worth died in 52 00:03:08,520 --> 00:03:13,440 Speaker 1: eighteen sons Gaston Lucien and Jean Philippe took over the operation. 53 00:03:13,880 --> 00:03:16,680 Speaker 1: At first business was good, but the powerful House of 54 00:03:16,680 --> 00:03:19,920 Speaker 1: Worth began losing its footing during the twentieth century. The 55 00:03:19,919 --> 00:03:22,679 Speaker 1: House of Paquin acquired the business in nineteen fifty and 56 00:03:22,720 --> 00:03:25,720 Speaker 1: by nineteen fifty two. The Worth family was formally out 57 00:03:25,720 --> 00:03:29,240 Speaker 1: of the business when Worth's great grandson Jean Charles retired, 58 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:33,160 Speaker 1: but the House of Worth wasn't quite dead. The business 59 00:03:33,200 --> 00:03:35,480 Speaker 1: was bought and sold several more times over the years, 60 00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:39,320 Speaker 1: resuming cotour operations in the late nineteen sixties and again 61 00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:42,840 Speaker 1: in the early twentyeens. Many of Worth's garments are still 62 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:45,560 Speaker 1: around today, and fashion buffs can see them at museums 63 00:03:45,560 --> 00:03:48,280 Speaker 1: all around the world, including the Costume Institute, which is 64 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:50,720 Speaker 1: part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, as well as 65 00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:53,720 Speaker 1: London's Vienna Museum and the Museum at f i t. 66 00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:01,920 Speaker 1: Today's episode is based on the article who started Coutur 67 00:04:02,120 --> 00:04:04,400 Speaker 1: on how Stuff Works dot com, written by Melanie rod 68 00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:08,000 Speaker 1: Zekie McManus, an association with fashion historians April Callaghan and 69 00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:11,760 Speaker 1: Cassidy Zachary of the podcast Dressed. To hear more about 70 00:04:11,800 --> 00:04:15,000 Speaker 1: Worth and here from guest Highland Booker, lead designer for 71 00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:17,679 Speaker 1: the Worth Fashion House in the late nineteen sixties, Tune 72 00:04:17,680 --> 00:04:21,200 Speaker 1: into Dress this episode founding father of Oak Tour, Charles 73 00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:25,200 Speaker 1: Frederick Worth, available wherever you find your podcasts. Brain Stuff 74 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:27,039 Speaker 1: is a production of our Heart Radio in partnership with 75 00:04:27,040 --> 00:04:29,080 Speaker 1: how stuff works dot com and is produced by Tyler 76 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:32,400 Speaker 1: Playing or more podcasts My Heart Radio, visit the heart 77 00:04:32,440 --> 00:04:35,040 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 78 00:04:35,040 --> 00:04:35,720 Speaker 1: favorite shows.