The Garment Sculptors | Grès Minds Think Alike

Four years after her departure from the fashion scene and presumably while she was in alive and in retirement, all that was left of Maison Grès was the trademark and legacy of the Master. Yagi Tsucho, a Japanese textile conglomerate purchased the trademark and began an exhaustive worldwide search across the fashion capitals and finally discovered a budding young designer who was getting attention in the French fashion press. They noticed his style tendencies were very much aligned with those of the Master. From his first collection unveiled in 1987 on the runway at the Hotel Crillon in Paris, his design direction embodied a profound "Alix" vibe and is an ever present sensibility found throughout his body of work until the present day. With a sigh of relief after a multiyear search, they offered him the auspicious challenge of stepping in as the Artistic Director for the House now marked as Grès - Paris. There had been no other designer beside the Madame herself making the position especially daunting for any one strong enough to step-in.

 

And so it was, that a 25 year old talent named Lloyd Klein took the reins for the acclaimed brand. With barely a thread of physical reference and no sample vault from which to browse, few physical photos in hand and without the luxury of digital imagery now enjoyed in age of the internet, he systematically began to do the near impossible restoration. Klein's first move was to invite the long serving seamstresses of the previous atelier to return and assist in the rebuilding process. He then meticulously scoured every known vintage store in Paris for all things Grès  His persistence and resolve in the curation process resulted in building a trove of relics from Madame Grès collections including original sketches and recovers over 75 rare photographs and several original Rene Gruau illustrations as well as over 100 samples of Madame Grès garments representing her overall career with a majority connected to the 60's - early 80's. Among his finds, are numerous relics, and photographs that belonged to Madame’s longtime personal partner Muni and those of her “Muse Daughter”, her unofficially adopted daughter whom Grès showed favor over her often estranged daughter Anne. With a newly staffed team in the atelier including those that had worked with the Madame for many years and the small library of samples his first accomplishment was the creation of “Tailleur Grès” given that his forte was in designing tailored apparel.

 

His first collection for Grès received great acclaim from the uneasily impressed Parisian fashion journalists including a review from Le Figaro Daily in which Fashion Editor Janie Samet wrote in her article entitled,

 

“des Fleures Pour Grès” (Flowers for Grès),

“Lloyd Klein proved (today) that the spirit of Madame Grès lives on through his hands”.

 

The front-row seats for his runway shows mostly held at the Carrousel Du Louvre were luminous with VIP's like Madame Carven, Madame Chirac, and especially by Monsieur Hubert de Givenchy who Klein credits as his reason for entering the field much the same way that Pierre Bergé stated "Madame Grès is one of the reasons why we (he and his business partner Yves St. Laurent) went into fashion".  

 

Like his predecessor, Klein's clients at Grès were notable and like the infamous golden book of her high society clients, his impressive list included: Mrs. Johnson (of the Johnson & Johnson Co.), Princesse Philomene d’ Arenberg, Princess Diane de Beauveau Craon, Princess Anne de Bourbon Sicile, Mrs. Judith Taubman, Cyrielle Clair, Amanda Lear, Mrs. Jocelyne Wildenstein and Mrs. Nan Kempner, among many others. His runway theater attracted the top models in Paris including Tricia Helfer, Bridget Moynahan, Eve Salvail, Christy Turlington, Adriana Karembeu, Emma Sjoeberg, Linda Evangelista and Gretta Cavazzoni. His collaborations with some of Paris most accomplished artists such as Jean Barthot for hats and Alexandre de Paris for Coiffure were celebrated as genius by those who understood the power of working with the best of the best. 

 

However when it came time to renew his contract with Yagi Tsucho, after profound consideration, he declined. WWD simply reported that he chose to leave his contract to pursue other interests. But the giant shadow that surrounded his presence was the constant and unfair comparison to Grès. Combined with the cultural differences that surfaced between the Japanese owners that starkly contrasted the French culture, made his decision inevitable. His ultimate desire to return to creating with his own fashion identity and to have the freedom of artistic license that comes with ownership of an eponymous brand prevailed.  

 

His imprint at the House was significant.  In three short years, he had staged four major runway collections and created design statutes, reconstructed patterns and orchestrated the blocks sorely missing in the atelier, simultaneously designing for over 46 licensed categories of apparel and products for Asia and throughout Europe which all flourished during his tenure.

 

Similar to the way that artists are referenced as genre like the Expressionists or the Impressionists, Madame Grès and Lloyd Klein seem to find reference in the same qualities that produce such a beautiful category of apparel. Perhaps a name like the Classicists would be appropriate or the Architecturalists would be justified. There are many significant fashion giants who reference Grès as inspiration and find alignment with her direction of apparel design. Among them are Alber Elbaz for Lanvin, Schiaparelli. Haider Ackermann, Yoji Yamamoto and Ralph Rucci each in various degrees.  However, her design torch is most significantly carried by Lloyd Klein, her first successor and sincerest fan. Sadly, his successful effort to revive her label that he achieved during his tenure 1992-1995 was not sustained after his departure.

 

Eventually, the House, stopped actively producing apparel and closed its doors in 2005. Yagi Tsucho continues to hold the master trademark. A Swiss company maintains the license in the category of fragrance and still actively produces perfumes like Cabochard and Cabotine, created by Grès herself which are reportedly considered to be among the all-time best sellers worldwide.