POIRET, PAUL

born April 20, 1879, Paris, France died April 30, 1944, Paris French couturier, the most fashionable dress designer of pre-World War I Paris, who was particularly noted for his introduction of the hobble skirt, a vertical, tight-bottomed style that confined women to mincing steps. After serving as a designer in the house of Parisian fashion designer Charles Frederick Worth, Poiret opened a small shop in Paris in 1903. By placing a belt on the straight silhouette high under the bosom (1908), he revived the Empire style, popular in France during the reign of Napoleon I. Inspired by a widespread interest in Far Eastern art and Russian ballet, he added draped and belted knee-length tunics to his popular hobble skirt. Fringed and tasseled capes, multicoloured feathers, coils of pearls, and white-fox stoles imparted a flamboyant, theatrical look to Poiret's designs. His evening gowns appeared in brilliant shades of purple, red, orange, green, and blue. Poiret's simple, flowing Greek costumes were popular in the pre-World War I period, but his popularity waned in the 1920s.