Paul poiret

Poiret was particularly innovative in the art of draping and direct work on the body. He freed women from the corset, invented the shirt-dress, imposed straight lines, popularised bright colours and became the reference for contemporary designers.

In May 2005, the fashion designer Azzedine Alaïa exhibited Denise Poiret's personal wardrobe in the gallery of his fashion house, under the title La Création en liberté. " Alaïa's presentation created tremendous excitement in the fashion world. All the major institutions were there for the auction, it was a historic event. " Harold Koda, Curator of the Costume Institute at the MET. 

The models show the emergence, from before the First World War, of straight lines, as on these flat coats borrowed from Japanese kimonos. The oriental-influenced designer also popularises sarouels and tunics.