From Vanity Fair · Ilaria Perrotta · · 2m
Jacqueline de Ribes, the Last Queen of Paris
The aristocrat who turned haute couture into art and became a fashion icon on her own terms.
In brief
The aristocrat who turned haute couture into art and became a fashion icon on her own terms. True elegance comes from being yourself, not from following trends or seeking to astonish others. Originally reported by Vanity Fair.
The power of an entrance
At a 1969 masquerade ball, de Ribes arrived hours late wearing a Turkish costume she'd made from three old dresses and a ballerina's sable cape.
“No one knew like Jacqueline the power of an entrance.”
Fashion from childhood
Born into Parisian aristocracy, she staged a costume show at age nine and made Greek-goddess dresses from sheets. A meeting with Dior at 16 sealed her fate.
An individualist, never generic
She refused to wear what everyone else wore, preferring masculine-cut jackets and avoiding anything considered glamorous or sexy.
“She will not wear whatever is seen everywhere and on everybody.”
One of Capote's Swans
At 18 she married Viscount Édouard de Ribes, but she wanted to be more than just an aristocrat's wife.
Muse to the masters
Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, and Givenchy became her trusted designers. She was their muse, captivating them with her extraordinary beauty and fluid elegance.
Cutting up couture
She developed a habit of cutting up haute couture dresses and reworking them into new creations with altered waistlines and unexpected proportions.
Valentino's early collaborator
Designer Oleg Cassini hired her to create dresses in muslin with help from a young, unknown Italian assistant: Valentino, who later called her the last queen of Paris.
Jewelry as raw material
She viewed diamonds and jewelry the same way she approached clothing: as raw material to be shaped and reinvented into something entirely her own.
Launching her own label
In 1983 she founded her ready-to-wear line, attracting clients like Joan Collins and Danielle Steel. She retired in 1995 despite generating over $3 million yearly.
Gaultier's Divine Jacqueline
In 1999, Jean Paul Gaultier dedicated his haute couture show to her, evoking her statuesque beauty through upswept hair, dramatic makeup, and theatrical gowns.
The art of not astonishing
The Met honored her with a 2015 exhibition. Her philosophy: elegance is being yourself and not creating astonishment.
“Elegance is the art of being astonishing without creating astonishment.”
The takeaway
True elegance comes from being yourself, not from following trends or seeking to astonish others.
