Mainbocher (1890 or 1891-1976) was born Main Rousseau Bocher in Chicago and, despite having no formal training in fashion design or dressmaking, and despite being an American in a French-dominated industry, became famous as a couturier in both Europe and the United States.
Fashion was not originally part of Mainbocher’s life, though he expressed interest in music and art from a young age. He attended the University of Chicago briefly but dropped out to support his mother and older sister when his father, a dry-goods salesman, died. Throughout his late teens and twenties he moved between jobs and periods of artistic and musical study in New York, Munich, Paris, and London, sometimes bringing his family with him. He worked as an illustrator for department stores and clothing manufacturers before enlisting when the United States entered World War One.
After the war ended Mainbocher studied music in Europe but had to shift focus when he became physically unable to continue singing. In 1921, while living in Paris with his lifelong partner, fashion illustrator Douglas Pollard, he began working as a fashion illustrator for Harper’s Bazaar. That led to a position in Vogue’s Paris office, where he spent seven years. Then, in June 1929, after years of successfully predicting fashions and promoting emerging designers and artists, he was ready to design and create his own styles.
Source: Mount Mary University Digital Fashion Archive
He combined his first and last names to name his salon, which he opened in 1930, and by the end of the decade he had become wildly successful. Always ready to set a trend rather than follow one, he introduced classic styles including the strapless dress and the short cocktail dress. He designed custom garments for the wealthy and became known for extremely high-quality construction and sophistication. His most famous client was Wallis Simpson, the American whom King Edward VIII of England abdicated his throne in 1936 to marry; Mainbocher’s sketch was selected for her wedding dress, and the dress was very popular and widely copied.
When World War Two broke out Mainbocher returned to New York, where he set up shop andagreed to design the uniforms for the WAVES (Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service), the women’s auxiliary of the U.S. Navy. His functional and feminine uniforms were well-loved by the WAVES and helped establishhis appeal and patriotism with Americans. He also designed uniforms for the Girl Scouts and the Red Cross, butotherwise maintainedan exclusive couture salon in New York for the next few decades, despite fashion’s turn towards mass production and off-the-rack designs. He retired in 1971 and died in Munich in 1976.
