Description
UNE IDEE DE JENNY
The Editions Récits publishes the first biography of Jenny Sacerdote.
Jenny, whose real name was Jeanne, Adèle, Bernard (1868-1962), was a great French couturier. A major figure of the interwar period, a pioneer in many fields, a fighter and feminist before her time, she revolutionized fashion with her artistic, technical and colorimetric approach. She was one of the very first women in France to be awarded the Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur. Let’s go back to the very beginning of the 20th century. Close to artists, and considered an artist herself, between 1909 and 1948 Jenny headed one of the most prominent haute couture houses of her time. At once creator, manager, woman and muse, she dressed Eve Lavallière, Réjane, Suzy Solidor and Arletty, as well as Fred Astaire’s sister and mother, Mary Pickford, Countess Greffulhe, Begum Om Habibeh Aga Khan, Her Majesty the Queen of Egypt and the Empress of Japan.
In Trois, six, neuf, Colette recounts how a seamstress had invented a sort of schoolgirl smock, a short apron dress, a Madame Jenny dress. Born to an unknown father in Périgueux, she returned to her native land to buy and restore the Château de Château-l’Evêque. Jenny served France through both wars with honor and courage.Twice married, twice divorced and childless, Jenny devoted herself to her couture house, which she ran with the utmost respect for her customers and her 1,000 workers.
Described by Vogue as the prescriber of general theories and the mistress of taste, she was responsible for many of the cuts and methods still used today. Une Idée de Jenny recounts the epic story of a French artist who refused to give up to pursue her dreams in a society ruled by the Napoleonic Civil Code.
