Ascots. Foulards. Scarves. Whatever you call them, I’m fascinated by this accessory. I have an enourmous collection of scarves. In fact, I’ve started writing a book about my own personal collection. Hopefully it will be out by the end of the year. The only problem I have is just when I’m about to finish, I find another amazing scarf to add to the collection. This week was no exception. I found this lovely scarf by Jacques Fath!
I’ve written about Jacques Fath before in How to Speak Fashion, Part II. Fath (1912-1954) was an eminent Parisian fashion designer that rose to fame during the WWII Occupation. He became popular by designing dresses that could be worn while riding bicycles – which was the main mode of transportation.
After the war, he was considered to be one of the “Big Three” fashion designers – the other two were Christian Dior and Pierre Balmain.
His influence sky-rocked postwar, as he created very feminine silhouettes. Fath’s garments were also fun, and allowed women mobility. He died of leukemia in 1954. His wife, Geneviève, took over the fashion house’s direction after his death until 1957.
After the company sold, the name would have become more of a brand identity than reference to the actual designer. You can see that the label actually changed to reflect this. My scarf has a more generic looking typeface on the bottom right corner. But it’s still a gem!
GHTime Code(s): nc