Marie-Louise Carven

Marie-Louise Carven was born Carmen de Tommaso on 31 August 1909 in Châtellerault, France.[4] However, she strongly disliked her given name, and when she founded her business, she assumed the name by which she is better known.[1] Carven showed an interest in fashion design from a young age by making outfits for her pet cat.[4]

As a young woman, Carven studied architecture and interior decor at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris.[4]

In the 1940s, she employed the Romanian Jew Henry Bricianer in her shop in Paris despite antisemitic Vichy laws.[6] When the police came for Bricanier, she hid him in the building where her shop was, and allowed him to continue his work.[6] As well, she allowed four members of Bricanier's family to live with her own relatives; this enabled them and Henry to survive until the end of World War II.[6]

She had a chateau in Chantilly, where she kept kangaroos and peacocks, and a summer house on the Riviera.[5]

Carven died in Paris on 8 June 2015, aged 105.[7]

In 1945, at the age of 36, Carven opened her fashion house on the Champs-Élysées.[8] The name Carven combined Carmen, her given name, with the last name of her aunt Josy Boyriven, who introduced her to couture.[9] The 5'1" Carven focused her line on petite women, "because [she] was too short to wear the creations of the top couturiers, who only ever showed their designs on towering girls."[5]

Carven soon became known as "the smallest of big couturiers."[5] The signature piece from her first collection was a full skirted, green and white striped summer dress.[4] Green and white stripes became the signature of the House of Carven.[9] The material had been found in the attic of a chateau and was likely originally purchased for the summer uniforms of housemaids prior to World War I.[4] Her early clients included Leslie Caron, Martine Carol, Zizi Jeanmaire, and Édith Piaf.[4]

Carven was an inventive marketer. In 1946, she publicized the launch of her first perfume by parachuting hundreds of sample bottles across Paris.[4] In 1950, Carven created a collection inspired by Gone with the Wind to coincide with the film's French release.[5] She toured France with the collection, staging fashion shows at movie theaters.[9]

In 1950, she became one of the first couturiers to develop prêt-à-porter.[3] Her preference for simple materials such as pink gingham and broderie anglaise eased her transition to ready-to-wear.[4]

In 1955, she launched Carven Junior.[5]

Carven was one of the first fashion houses to stage runway shows around the world.[5] The designer's travel inspired her to use diverse materials such as madras, batik, and raffia in her collections.[9] In the 1950s, Carven was one of the first Western designers to use African textiles.[10]

Carven designed uniforms for the 1976 French Olympic team, Parisian traffic wardens, Eurostar staff,[4] and over 20 airlines.[9]

Carven was also the costume designer for eleven films, including Manon (1949), Rendezvous in July (1949), Edward and Caroline (1951), Holiday for Henrietta (1952), and Le Guérisseur (1953).[11] She also worked for the costume and wardrobe department for the film The Red Shoes (1948), and for the episode Gold (1952) of the television series Foreign Intrigue.[11] She worked for the art department for the Perry Mason episode The Case of the Gallant Grafter (1960).[11]

Carven retired at age 84 in 1993.[5][12]

In 2001, she gifted her archives to the Musée Galliera.[9]

In August 2000, Carven was named Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem.[13]

At her hundredth birthday party in 2009, she was made a commander of the Legion of Honor.[12]

• Carven website
• Carven "Esperanto" suit at the Palais Galliera