the Poiret de Wilde Collection (provenance)
Paul Poiret en Russie
circa 1911
It may be difficult for those who are unfamiliar with Poiret’s work to see any value in this photograph. To the unsuspecting eye, it is a rather unremarkable black and white photo of a man whose rigid figure is drowned in a large collared overcoat, and whose casual attempt to lean nearer to the rear of the motorcar appears to be so crippled by the cold Russian air that it only results in an even more awkward and uncomfortable pose.
However, this photograph marks the point in time when this man, famous couturier and ‘Pasha of Paris’, came face to face with what would spark and mould so much of his wonderful and iconic work of the coming years: Serge de Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. From the colours and costumes and interpreted Oriental design schemes to the mere theatrical details of anything from the underside of a yellow satin slipper to the shockingly-patterned and -plumaged pantaloons worn by a mysterious princely character, Poiret became captivated by the visual charm exuding from every corner of the small ballet company. In his mind, it served as a new patch of soil from which he could cultivate similar base ideas, but then expand on them in the direction of not only his unique perception of avant-garde aesthetics, but also in that of redefining the current fashion world’s restricted idea of beauty and form. Paul Poiret’s travels around Russia placed his artistic eye in direct contact with a culture that he had not fully realised was so rich in character, and which drew his natural affinity with boisterous styles and colourful, joie de vivre elements of design into an even tighter, more outspoken and confident bow of expression. It is for these reasons that this photograph speaks millions to those aware and appreciative of Poiret’s œuvre, for it shows an artist who, even if a bit stiff in stance, had an innovative and flexible, forward-thinking mind. And as this photo was being taken, it is likely that that very mind was already developing the early stills which would later materialise into the timeless works of art that admirers, collectors and museums alike guard closely to this day.
