Which came first: designs by Paul Poiret or Art Déco in the decorative arts? This depends. The decorative arts were codified in Turin at the first exhibition of modern decorative arts in 1902. Paul Poiret opened his own design house in 1903. Paris was to hold the International exposition of the decorative arts around 1913. The outbreak of World War I pushed the date to 1925. So the answer seems to depend on the dates of Poiret’s first design before the decorative arts rules were established. Clearly, Poiret was a man of many ideas. As a visionary who foreshadowed geometric lines with minimal structure and decoration he was clearly at the advent of the decorative arts.
Welcome to the Musée des Arts décoratifs exhibition devoted to Paul Poiret-La Mode est une Fête (Fashion is a Feast). The exhibition reconstructs in 15 sections how Poiret was central to the evolution of taste in clothing and the art de vivre. He considered himself “an artist, not a fashion designer”. His designs would later influence Yves Saint Laurent and Jean‑Paul Gaultier (think of the sailor look) and many more designers.
Visit this page to view and read the exhibition brochure.
Paul Poiret was a bon vivant (one who lives well). He loved art and theatre, painted, and collaborated with painters. Not only did he invent perfumes for his fashion house, he was the first fashion designer to become a fashion perfumer. Poiret held that distinction from 1911 to 1921 with Les Parfums de Rosine, named for his eldest daughter. He started a decorative‑arts school to paint the perfume bottles and design wallpaper and home interiors. These were produced by his Atelier Martine.
In the beginning
Every great artist has a beginning. A label in the exhibition explains that Poiret first sold designs to Madame Chéruit, who encouraged his vocation. Jacques Doucet, a favourite designer of actresses and dancers, hired Poiret in 1896, handing him the keys to Parisian high society. In 1901 Gaston Worth brought him into the House of Worth to design a more youthful, simpler collection alongside the sumptuous creations for which Worth was known. Draped tunics from Antiquity and the Empire style inspired Paul Poiret.
The caftan, dress and jacket designs for everyday wear foreshadowed the farewell to the corset. In 1903, he was shown the Worth door out; they did not like his caftans. He set up shop for himself. The loose, flowing designs that the Worths did not like, were in stark contrast to the cinched waist demanded by the corset. Poiret’s designer contemporary, Madeleine Vionnet, herself, never cared for the corset and could be said to have dropped the corset before Poiret.
These early designs, shown in the opening section of the exhibition “Paul Poiret—La mode est une fête” (Fashion is a Feast) at the Musée des Arts décoratifs, set the tone for what follows. Watching the first films at the entry to this exhibit prepares you for what is to come.
Poiret’s ideas began by studying antique sculptures at the Louvre, where he observed how drapery falls from a single supporting point. His life between those early years and 1929 unfolded between family life with his wife, Denise Boulet, and their five children; painting, nightlife, and themed parties. His sister, Nicole Groult, an artist and designer in her own right after the First World War, was one of his early models along with Denise. Paul, Denise and Nicole and Nicole’s husband, the decorator and interior designer, André Groult, moved together in a circle of artists.
Stories and Art
This exhibition is full of stories, fashion, photographs and fashion illustrations by Georges Lepape, André Édouard Marty, Henri Manuel, Thérèse Bonney, Victor Lhuer and Poiret’s own artworks, family photos, and party photos.
There is much to read and see in the two period exhibitions (Cent Ans de l’Art déco and Paul Poiret) at the Musée des Arts décoratifs. You may need to visit the two exhibitions on separate days! This time period was rich in innovation. Its forms and designs still resonate today (think mid-century lines).
Fame, spectacle, and decline
Paul Poiret became known as the “King of Fashion”. As early as 1911–1912, he understood the value of publicity, organizing promotional tours across European capitals. In 1913, he continued touring to the United States. Didier Grumbach writes that Poiret was not content simply to create dresses, perfumes, and interior design elements; he made fashion itself into a total universe. He closed his fashion his when war broke out and he joined the Army. By 1918, styles had evolved and were simpler than what he proposed. His extravagant life style and spending would send him into bankruptcy by 1926.
Left: Jean Paul Gaultier (1994) “La Grand Voyage”
Right: Christian Lacroix for Jean Patou (1987) “Fleur des Pois”
In the end
During the 1920s Paul Poiret paraded the elegance of Art Déco by dressing film stars, dancers, and theatrical actresses. For silent films his extravagant costumes were perfectly expressive. At the same time he continued to throw lavish parties. By 1923, however, he was experiencing financial difficulties. In 1929 he was forced to sell his Robert Mallet‑Stevens (the famous Art Déco architect) home to the actress Elvire Popesco. That same year, the perfume house Oriza L. Legrand bought Les Parfums de Rosine.
“And Paul Poiret, the man behind those unforgettable parties, who spent millions… became a vagrant. … Dressed in a vast, heavy cloth cape that remained from his glorious past, he slept on park benches.” – Georges Simenon (author of the Maigret novels)
Last notes: Poiret and Art Déco
In 1902, the first rules of decorative arts were established in Turin, Italy.
Denise and Paul married in 1905 around the time he created the dress “Josephine”, which evoked the Empire period. They traveled through Italy, visiting sites of antiquity and museums for inspiration. Looking at his fashion style between 1907 and 1908, with straight lines and fabrics featuring geometric and simple, stylized decoration, you already see les arts décoratifs at work.
The phrase “decorative arts” remained standard until 1968, when the British author Bevis Hillier first used the term Art Déco to describe this aesthetic. Visit the Cent Ans de l’Art Déco 1925-1935 across the entry corridor to see the evolution of the decorative arts in architecture, design, jewellery, paintings, furniture, sculpture, etc.
Related Exhibitions
- Cent Ans d’Art Déco 1925-2025 MAD – Musée des arts décoratifs until April 26, 2026.
- Les gens de Paris 1926-1936 until February 8, 2026 Musée Carnavalet
- Paris 1925 : l’Art déco et ses architectes until March 29, 2026 Cité de l’architecture et patrimoine