In 1918, Vogue reported that Countess Élisabeth Greffulhe, patron to some of the Belle Epoque’s most prominent artists and the reigning queen of the Parisian salon scene, would often visit the Louvre and Carnavalet museums in search of inspiration for her toilette. “She obtained ideas from these prints for the dresses which we all admired,” the magazine wrote. Now, through several donations made by her heirs, the Countess’s exquisite wardrobe is making its way back within museum walls at the Palais Galliera’s exhibition “La Mode Retrouvée,” opening tomorrow, November 7.
For Olivier Saillard, curator and director of the Palais Galliera, “Countess Greffulhe’s wardrobe represents exceptional haute couture dresses of great artistic quality with unique and rare literary references.” He is, of course, referring to the character of the Duchess of Guermantes, famously inspired by the Countess, in Marcel Proust’s epic work, In Search of Lost Time. The regal beauty was also immortalized in lyrics penned by the charming playboy poet (and her cousin) Robert de Montesquiou.
Fifty dresses from the wasp-waist Countess’s collection will be on display, including incredible gowns by Worth, Babani, Fortuny, and Maison Soinard. Saillard cites his favorite look as a Worth tea gown “that has the threatening appearance of an insect.”
As evidenced by Vogue’s frequent coverage, readers across the Atlantic were equally enchanted by the Countess. This interest has yet to wane. “When Valerie Steele heard about the exhibition, she expressed her desire for it to travel to New York,” Saillard says. The show will travel to the Museum at FIT as “Proust’s Muse,” opening September 2016.
The post Art Patron, Proust Muse, Famous Clotheshorse: Inside the Wardrobe of the Countess Greffulhe appeared first on Vogue.