FASHION Magazine
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Get to know Charles James: The forgotten genius behind this year’s Met Gala exhibit
Charles James gowns photographed by Cecil Beaton View some of Charles James’s most famous pieces »
Most people know their Chanel from their Givenchy, but bring up Charles James and you’ll likely hear crickets. Lauded as “the world’s best and only dressmaker who has raised haute couture…to a pure art form” by Cristóbal Balenciaga, he might just be the greatest couturier you never knew existed.
Born in 1906 to a British military officer and an American socialite, James got his start as a milliner in Chicago before finding his calling in couture. After moving to New York in 1939, he became the most exclusive dressmaker for America’s high-society swans, including Austine Hearst, Millicent Rogers and Babe Paley—a clientele he personally vetted, even giving them direction on how to move, sit and dance in his designs.
And with creations as sensational as his, James could afford to be choosy. His sweeping gowns and signature silhouette—strapless bodice, tiny waist, voluminous skirt—conveyed a sense of grandeur and majesty that ensured the wearer would be the star of any room. Even Christian Dior attributed the inspiration for his career-defining New Look to a James idea.
Photography by Cecil Beaton/Condé Nast archive
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New York Fashion Week: What the modern-day society swans will be wearing for Fall 2014
Photography by Peter Stigter 
Photography by Peter Stigter
Photography by Peter Stigter
You’ve heard of the Day of the Dead. Well, yesterday was the Day of the Debs at New York Fashion Week. Bright and early, my day began with a preview of the upcoming Charles James exhibit at the newly named Metropolitan Museum of Art Anna Wintour Centre (née Costume Institute) and model/actress/daughter of Isabella Rossellini Elettra Wiedemann modeling one of his original society swan designs. Then, it was onto Chanel HQ for a viewing of Karl’s latest collection of couture magic (encrusted sneakers included), featuring corset waists fit surely for ladies who lunch… or actually who don’t lunch.
Up and coming designer Rosie Assoulin brought Charles James to Fall 2014 with her second superb collection of structural sportswear-meets-society separates and evening gowns straight out of this famed Cecil Beaton photograph. Velvet sashes layered over sweatpants! That’s how the modern swans do. And later that night, yet more odes to James at Zac Posen, where a teal panniered duchess satin gown was so glamorously wide, it grazed my feet as it flew past.
