BARBIER, George (and others), illustrator.

It may have been short-lived but the Gazette du Bon Ton was hugely influential reflecting all the latest developments in fashion and lifestyle at the beginning of the twentieth century at a time when styles changed dramatically in the space of a few years. The magazine was only available to subscribers at a price which equals 425 per year in today's money, thereby creating a very exclusive image. Lucien Vogel, the editor aimed to establish fashion as an art form and also to create 'good taste' for the Parisian elite. Publication was suspended in 1915, due to World War I, and resumed in 1920 with the present volume, continuing through 1925.

Contributing artists included all the greatest names of the day such as Dufy, Bakst, Barbier and Brunelleschi, etc and these artists would depict the haute couture in a narrative and dramatic style using vivid colours and the pochoir technique special handmade paper. Many of the designs were idealistic leisure scenes of the well-to-do, illustrating the latest creations of Paris vintage fashion houses such as Worth, Lanvin, Doucet, Poiret, Callot Soeurs, Paquin and Beers, often without explanatory text. The literary content was also of the highest quality with essays by well known art historians, playwrights and novelists of the day.