and also the influence this had on the rest of Europe and beyond. The
consumer public were more influenced by the destructuring of the society and
the progression brought by industrial advancement. Worth recognized a
market gap that had been created, which no designer or dressmaker had iden-
tified. During this period, the most prominent dressmaker was the renowned
Rose Bertin, who had dressed Marie-Antoinette and other royals and aristo-
crats. Her approach to dressmaking and serving her clients, however,
remained structured to the strict aristocratic system, even as the society
evolved.
Worth’s creative mind buzzed with ideas and thoughts of the new societal
trends and he became restless to create women’s clothes to address society’s
needs. He endlessly questioned the dressmakers he was in contact with about
the tastes and styles of the nobles, which provided him with a defined image
of the current consumer needs. He also relentlessly sought opportunities to
realize his ambition of dressing women.
During this period Worth met one of the young apprentices at Gagelin,
Marie-Augustine Vernet, who he would later marry and who would become
the catalyst for his future success. As their relationship grew, he began
making dresses for her. The styles were according to the emerging tastes
that he could decipher from observing the society. The customers of
Gagelin took notice of Marie-Augustine’s finely cut and stylish clothes,
which were different from the fussy clothing of the day. They began to
request the same designs. As the demand grew, Worth asked Gagelin to start
a women’s department, which Marie-Augustine could manage. This idea
horrified the management of Gagelin as they were considered the most
distinguished silk mercers in Paris and arguably in the world of fashion and
couldn’t be linked with mere dressmaking. Worth pointed out examples of
the dressmakers who had expanded their businesses to include the sale of
textile alongside dresses, creating more choices and making selection easier
for customers. After several rounds of persuasion and continuous pressure
from customers, Worth was finally allowed to open a small dressmaking
department within the company premises. He became one of the first men
in the woman’s trade of dressmaking in Paris. His presence in a textile
house gave him great advantage in the choice and variety of fabrics for
customers and his contacts with the silk mills in Lyon was an additional
plus.
Worth’s style was simple but he was obsessed with the perfect cut, exact
fit and refined finishing. He also remained flexible and experimented with
new concepts and colours. He was an extremely meticulous man and the great
attention to detail that he paid to his designs and clothes separated them from
others. These attributes would later elevate his clothes from dressmaking to
haute couture.
In 1851, Gagelin was selected as a member of the French delegation at
‘The Great Exhibition of Works of Industry of All Nations’ at London’s Hyde52
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