Madame Carven Dies at 105
Legendary Parisian designer Madame Carven passed away in Paris on Monday afternoon at 105.
Born Carmen de Tommaso, she launched her fashion house Carven in 1945 with the concept of making clothes for herself and other women her size. A contemporary of Christian Dior, Pierre Balmain and Hubert de Givenchy, following World War II she was Paris’ most sought after designer in the era that followed Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli.
Her fashion house was one of the first to launch ready-to-wear lines and became famous due to its simple and elegant wearable styles . She also designed costumes for films including “Les Diaboliques,” starring Simone Signoret and her clients included the likes of Edith Piaf, Cecile Aubry and Leslie Caron. Reportedly, the costumes in Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo and Rear Window were inspired by her.
Carven was ahead of her time when it came to marketing too. When “Gone With the Wind” was released in France in 1950, she put out a collection inspired by the film and put on fashion shows at movie theaters. She was also a perfume pioneer who launched the Ma Griffe perfume and also went on to patent the idea for the push-up bra.
Carven continued designing until she was 84 and in 2008 the fashion house was re-branded with the hiring of Guillaume Henry which saw the reissue of the Ma Griffe perfume. After Henry’s departure, Alexis Martial and Adrien Caillaudaud took the helm of the label.
In 2009 at age 100, the legendary designer was made Commander of the Legion of Honor, France’s highest civilian distinction.
