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Madame Carven
Madame Carven
Born	Carmen Marie Louise Jeanne; de Tommaso; 31 August 1909; Châtellerault, France
Died	8 June 2015 (aged 105); Paris, France
Nationality	French
Label	Carven
Spouses	Philippe Mallet; (1939–1966; his death); René Grog (1972–1981; his death);
Awards	Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (1978); Legion of Honour (2009)

Marie-Louise Carven (31 August 1909 – 8 June 2015), born Carmen de Tommaso, was a French fashion designer who founded the house of Carven in 1945.^[3]^[4] She was noted for her designs for petite women, her use of lightweight fabrics such as lace and pink gingham, and for being one of the first couturieres to launch a prêt-à-porter line.^[5] She was the first Paris designer to patent a push-up bra.^[5]

Life

Marie-Louise Carven was born Carmen de Tommaso on 31 August 1909 in Châtellerault, France.^[4] However, she strongly disliked her given name, and when she founded her business, she assumed the name by which she is better known.^[1] Carven showed an interest in fashion design from a young age by making outfits for her pet cat.^[4]

As a young woman, Carven studied architecture and interior decor at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris.^[4]

In the 1940s, she employed the Romanian Jew Henry Bricianer in her shop in Paris despite antisemitic Vichy laws.^[6] When the police came for Bricanier, she hid him in the building where her shop was, and allowed him to continue his work.^[6] As well, she allowed four members of Bricanier's family to live with her own relatives; this enabled them and Henry to survive until the end of World War II.^[6]

She had a chateau in Chantilly, where she kept kangaroos and peacocks, and a summer house on the Riviera.^[5]

Carven died in Paris on 8 June 2015, aged 105.^[7]

Career

In 1945, at the age of 36, Carven opened her fashion house on the Champs-Élysées.^[8] The name Carven combined Carmen, her given name, with the last name of her aunt Josy Boyriven, who introduced her to couture.^[9] The 5'1" Carven focused her line on petite women, "because [she] was too short to wear the creations of the top couturiers, who only ever showed their designs on towering girls."^[5]

Carven soon became known as "the smallest of big couturiers."^[5] The signature piece from her first collection was a full skirted, green and white striped summer dress.^[4] Green and white stripes became the signature of the House of Carven.^[9] The material had been found in the attic of a chateau and was likely originally purchased for the summer uniforms of housemaids prior to World War I.^[4] Her early clients included Leslie Caron, Martine Carol, Zizi Jeanmaire, and Édith Piaf.^[4]

Carven was an inventive marketer. In 1946, she publicized the launch of her first perfume by parachuting hundreds of sample bottles across Paris.^[4] In 1950, Carven created a collection inspired by Gone with the Wind to coincide with the film's French release.^[5] She toured France with the collection, staging fashion shows at movie theaters.^[9]

In 1950, she became one of the first couturiers to develop prêt-à-porter.^[3] Her preference for simple materials such as pink gingham and broderie anglaise eased her transition to ready-to-wear.^[4]

In 1955, she launched Carven Junior.^[5]

Carven was one of the first fashion houses to stage runway shows around the world.^[5] The designer's travel inspired her to use diverse materials such as madras, batik, and raffia in her collections.^[9] In the 1950s, Carven was one of the first Western designers to use African textiles.^[10]

Carven designed uniforms for the 1976 French Olympic team, Parisian traffic wardens, Eurostar staff,^[4] and over 20 airlines.^[9]

Carven was also the costume designer for eleven films, including Manon (1949), Rendezvous in July (1949), Edward and Caroline (1951), Holiday for Henrietta (1952), and Le Guérisseur (1953).^[11] She also worked for the costume and wardrobe department for the film The Red Shoes (1948), and for the episode Gold (1952) of the television series Foreign Intrigue.^[11] She worked for the art department for the Perry Mason episode The Case of the Gallant Grafter (1960).^[11]