The Doyenne of French Design, Madame Carven, Passes Away at 105
It was reported yesterday that Madame Carven, née Carmen de Tommaso, quietly passed on in Paris at the ripe age of 105. Born in 1909, Carmen was of the same generation as fellow designers Christian Dior, Hubert de Givenchy and Pierre Balmain, who opened his couture house the same year as Mme Carven, in 1945. The French designer carved a name and reputation for herself in a hugely male-dominated world thanks to the youth appeal of her simple and fresh designs. Her clothes were all about clean and simple lines, draped necklines, alluring pinched-in waists and the house’s signature green and white stripes; all of which were a roaring success in the feel-good post-World War II era.
Brigitte Bardot makes Carven's pink gingham popular during her 1959 wedding
Madame Carven started her successful business out of sheer practicality, she could not ever find clothes to fit her petite frame among the creations of the time — she was 5’1”— and decided to remedy that gap in the market.
“I decided to make haute couture outfits in my size because I was too short to wear the creations of the top couturiers, who only ever showed their designs on towering girls,” she said in 1950. “But I wanted to retain my style — sober, practical and young, with a lot of sports garments.”
Madame Carven wasn’t just a precursor in modern-looking, fit-all-sizes clothes, she was also an avant-gardist on many levels. She was one of the first couturiers to start doing ready-to-wear and to incur celebrity frenzy over her designs: singer Edith Piaf, Cécile Aubry and actress Brigitte Bardot were huge fans of Carven. You could say she was also the instigator of the travelling catwalk show, having staged presentations in legions of far-flung destinations, from Thailand, Morocco to Cuba and Mexico.
Mme Carven fitting a model wearing bridal before in a show in 1962
Carmen de Tommasso dipped her toes into many creative pools, and turned everything she touched into gold, from costume designs, bridal gowns, ski outfits, fragrances, lingerie and even airline and traffic warden uniforms. In a marketing coup that resonated throughout the capital, Carven promoted the launch of her first fragrance 'La Griffe' in 1950 —marking the 10th year anniversary of the Liberation of Paris— with the genius idea of attaching small perfume bottles to green and white striped small parachutes, descending over the city. Would you be surprised if we told you that, in all her ingenuity, she patented the first push-up bra? She designed it for her bustier gowns.
Madame Carven was said to be a vivacious and optimistic person, whether at work or in her personal life, driven by her passion for beauty and love of life. She was a keen collector with her second husband Swiss businessman René Grog and donated generously throughout her lifetime. Most of her design heritage from looks to sketches and accessories can be seen at the Palais Galliera in Paris. The couple also created a philanthropic not-for-profit Association, Grog-Carven, which provides grants to students of the decorative arts.
Her strong-will, perseverance and consequently glittering career, have made her the recipient of France’s highest civilian honour, "Commandeur de la Légion d’Honneur" (Commander of the Legion of Honor), in 2009.
Carven’s contemporary label launched in 2008 after the couture business had closed many years prior, with the nomination of young designer Guillaume Henry at its helm. Since then, Henry has left the house and been replaced by Alexis Martial and Adrien Caillaudaud in 2014, as the new creative directors.
