Worth, Charles Frederick

born Oct. 13, 1825, Bourne, Lincolnshire, Eng.

died March 10, 1895, Paris, France

British-born French fashion designer.

In 1845 he left England, where he had been a bookkeeper, and worked in a Paris dress accessories shop. In 1858 he opened his own ladies' tailor shop and soon gained the patronage of the empress Eugénie. He was a pioneer of the "fashion show" (the preparation and showing of a collection), the first man to become prominent in the field of fashion, and the first designer to create dresses intended to be copied and distributed throughout the world. He became the dictator of Paris fashion and was especially noted for his elegant Second Empire gowns. He invented the bustle, which became standard in women's fashion in the 1870s and '80s.

Charles Frederick Worth, detail of an engraving

BBC Hulton Picture Library

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▪ English designer

born Oct. 13, 1825, Bourne, Lincolnshire, Eng.

died March 10, 1895, Paris, France

 pioneer fashion designer and one of the founders of Parisian haute couture.

      In 1845 Worth left London, where he had worked in a yard-goods firm, for Paris, where he was employed in a dress accessories shop. His timing was propitious, as the creation of the Second Empire (1852) ushered in a new era of prosperity. With the reinvigoration of Parisian political and intellectual life, Worth established his own ladies' tailor shop in 1858. Through Princess Metternich, wife of the Austrian ambassador to France (see Klemens, Fürst von Metternich (Metternich, Klemens, Fürst von)), he gained the patronage of the fashionable empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III of France.

      Worth was one of the first to prepare and show a collection in advance and the first man to become internationally famous in the field of fashion. He pioneered in designing dresses to be copied in French workrooms and distributed throughout the world. He is especially noted for designing sumptuous crinolined (crinoline) gowns that reflected the elegance of the era and for popularizing the bustle, which became a standard in women's fashion throughout the 1870s and '80s. His pieces were of such excellent quality that they became highly sought by collectors and museums, remaining so into the early 21st century.

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