| About: | the designers
Louis Feraud was born in 1921 in Arles, France. During the 2nd World War, he was active in the French resistance against the Germans. Later he left his job as a ski instructor in the Alps to open his first boutique in the 1950s in the French Riviera city of Cannes, where he sold clothes to the sun-worshipping jet set.
His shop was patronized by many movie stars visiting the Film Festival.
He met Brigitte Bardot in 1953, and after she wore one of his dresses in public, it started a run of Feraud. In a week 500 dresses were sold. After that, he dressed Brigitte for several of her films. In all he designed for some 20 films.
In 1955 he moved to Paris where he opened a ready-to-wear salon. He and his wife were dubbed "the Gypsies" because of their brightly coloured, gypsy-inspired look of the 60's.
In 1956 he opened a boutique in Paris for clients including actresses Kim Novak and Ingrid Bergman as well as Danielle Mitterrand, wife of the late French president Francois Mitterrand. As much artist as couturier, he kept painting throughout most his life, crafting stylish nudes, landscapes and flowers which were exhibited and sold in Paris and New York.
In 1990 his paintings of naked angels on exhibit in Japan sold for the same price as his haute couture masterpieces.
Feraud also created several perfumes for the American company Avon and made contributions to the work of other designers, including Daniel Hechter and Jean-Louis Scherrer.
French fashion designer Louis Feraud has died aged 79. He died at his Paris home after a four year battle against Alzheimer's disease.
the label
There are about 50 Feraud outlets around the world whose annual turnover is about £81m.
In 1996, Louis Feraud turned over his house to his daughter Dominique (Kiki) Feraud. She was an alumni of the Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture in Paris. She presented several collections for the house, being long black gowns ornamented with gold embroidery and metal pieces in hieroglyphic motifs.
Alistair Blair was the designer for the house from 1995 to 1999.
Yvan Mispelaere was appointed chief designer in 1999 but only completed two and a half years of his contract, before leaving in early 2002.
Belgian Matthias Heitzler, is on the design team looking after the womens ready-to-wear.
In July 2001, German fashion house Escada in collaboration with Secon of Holland, formed a joint venture and acquired the house of Louis Feraud.
ean-Paul Knott is a young Belgian designer, born 1967, and educated at FIT New York, who had earlier worked with Yves St. Laurent and Krizia. He joined Louis Feraud in 2002. After only 2 seasons at Louis Feraud, Jean-Paul Knott has left them. It seems that the Feraud board was not happy with the commercial result of the Luxury Feraud label which Knott designed.
They plan to continue with their ladies ready-to-wear designed by Belgian designer Matthias Heitzler. |
| The Look: | A talented artist, Feraud has been inspired by the art of other cultures, notably those of South America. There is a sensitive use of colour in his designs, which since the 60's have become increasingly classical. Sunny, heavily embroidered clothes were his métier. He said: "I live for the joy of being surrounded by beautiful women, of directing their destiny". His clever and amusing black and white geometrics and graphics often went directly into his outfits, and some of his most beautiful, luminous scarves were his own colourful designs. |
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