Dominique Sirop (born January 1956) is a French fashion designer and '' grand couturier''.

Early life

Sirop's mother was a couturier's mannequin in Paris for the House of Paquin, and from seeing his mother at work Sirop got the ambition to make a career in the world of

haute couture ''Haute couture'' (; ; French for 'high sewing', 'high dressmaking') is the creation of exclusive custom-fitted high-end fashion design that is constructed by hand from start-to-finish. Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, Paris became th ...

. He has said that by the age of seven, he knew that he wanted to be "either a fashion designer, a magician or the Sun King".

Career

At the age of seventeen, Sirop was apprenticed to Yves Saint Laurent, beginning work in his

atelier An atelier () is the private workshop or studio of a professional artist in the fine or decorative arts or an architect, where a principal master and a number of assistants, students, and apprentices can work together producing fine art or v ...

, where he learned about dress materials and sewing. In 1978, he showed some sketches to

Hubert de Givenchy Count Hubert James Marcel Taffin de Givenchy (; 21 February 1927 – 10 March 2018) was a French aristocrat and fashion designer who founded the luxury fashion and perfume house of Givenchy in 1952. He is famous for having designed much of the p ...

, who hired him as an assistant designer. He stayed with Givenchy's studio until 1989, and while there his clients included

Audrey Hepburn Audrey Hepburn (born Audrey Kathleen Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress and humanitarian. Recognised as both a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars, t ...

. Then from 1989 to 1996 he was a designer for

Hanae Mori was a Japanese fashion designer. She was one of only two Japanese women to have presented her collections on the runways of Paris and New York, and the first Asian woman to be admitted as an official ''haute couture'' design house by the Fédé ...

. He also turned to research and writing, going on to publish two books, ''A Historical Overview of the House of Paquin'' (1989) and ''Jacqueline Delubac'' (1994). He became an expert on the history of costume, and is consulted in this area by museum curators. In 1995, Sirop was Hubert de Givenchy's chosen successor as chief designer of the Givenchy label, but

Bernard Arnault Bernard Jean Étienne Arnault (; born 5 March 1949) is a French business magnate, investor, and art collector. He is the co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton SE, the world's largest luxury ...

, head of the

Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (), commonly known as LVMH, is a French holding multinational corporation and conglomerate specializing in luxury goods, headquartered in Paris. The company was formed in 1987 through the merger of fashion house ...

conglomerate which owned Givenchy, took the view that Sirop was not well enough known to the public and appointed

John Galliano John Charles Galliano (born 28 November 1960) is a British fashion designer from Gibraltar. He was the creative director of his eponymous label John Galliano and French fashion houses Givenchy and Dior. Since 2014, Galliano has been the creat ...

instead.

Dominique Sirop couture

In September 1996, Sirop opened his own couture house, and less than a year later he was admitted to the exclusive '' Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture Parisienne'', making his house one of the ten official French

couture Couture may refer to: People * Couture (surname) Places Belgium * Couture-Saint-Germain, a village in the municipality of Lasne, Belgium Canada * Couture crater and Lac Couture, an impact crater and the lake that covers it in Quebec, Canada ...

fashion houses. This entitles its principal designer to be called a ''grand couturier''. Sirop has high-profile clients and produces fashion collections every season for more than one of the six major

fashion week A fashion week is a fashion industry event, lasting approximately one week, where fashion designers, brands or "houses" display their latest collections in runway fashion shows to buyers and the media. These events influence the upcoming fashion ...

s: Milan, Paris, London, Tokyo, Los Angeles, and New York. His designs are often featured in fashion magazines, including ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'' and ''

Madame Figaro ''Madame Figaro'' is a French magazine supplement to the Saturday edition of the daily newspaper ''Le Figaro'', focusing on and catering to women. History and profile The first edition was published in 1980. ''Madame Figaro'' was spearheaded by ...

''. Since January 2000, Sirop's shop and atelier has been at 14,

Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré The Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré () is a street located in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. Relatively narrow and nondescript, especially in comparison to the nearby Avenue des Champs-Élysées, it is cited as being one of the most luxu ...

, 75008 Paris, a historic building which includes its own theatre.

Ready-to-wear label

In 1998, Sirop entered into a partnership with Daimaru Stores of Japan to produce ''Dominique Sirop for Daimaru'', a high-fashion

prêt-à-porter Ready-to-wear (or ''prêt-à-porter''; abbreviated RTW; "off-the-rack" or "off-the-peg" in casual use) is the term for ready-made garments, sold in finished condition in standardized sizes, as distinct from made-to-measure or bespoke clothin ...

(or ready-to-wear) label.

Notable clients

Those who are known to have bought Sirop's work include *

Queen Rania of Jordan Rania Al-Abdullah ( ar, رانيا العبد الله, ; born Rania Al-Yassin, 31 August 1970) is Queen of Jordan as the wife of King Abdullah II. Rania was born in Kuwait to Palestinian parents. She received her bachelor's degree in busi ...

Queen Sonja of Norway Sonja (born Sonja Haraldsen on 4 July 1937) is Queen of Norway since 17 January 1991 as the wife of King Harald V. Sonja and the then Crown Prince Harald had dated for nine years prior to their marriage in 1968. They had kept their relations ...

Joan Collins Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. Collins is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primetime ...

Judith Godrèche Judith Godrèche (born 23 March 1972) is a French actress and author. She has appeared in more than 30 films. Early life Godrèche was born in the 17th arrondissement of Paris. Her father is a psychoanalyst, and her mother a child therapist. He ...

Nan Kempner Nan Kempner (July 24, 1930 – July 3, 2005) was a New York City socialite, reputed for her fashion sense and her philanthropy. Biography Born Nan Field Schlesinger in San Francisco, Kempner was the only child in a wealthy family. Her father, A ...

*Marie-Therese Perrin, wife of

Cartier Cartier may refer to: People * Cartier (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Cartier Martin (born 1984), American basketball player Places * Cartier Island, an island north-west of Australia that is part of Australia' ...

president Alain-Dominique Perrin *Hélène David-Weill, president of Arts Décoratifs and wife of Lazard Frères, chairman

Michel David-Weill Michel David-Weill (November 23, 1932 – June 16, 2022) was an investment banker and Chairman of Lazard and Eurazeo. Early life Michel David-Weill was born into a Jewish family on November 23, 1932. His father, Pierre David-Weill (1900–1975), ...

Bibliography

* ''L'Élégance de

Jacqueline Delubac Jacqueline Delubac (1907–1997) was a French stage and film actress.Williams p.158 She was married to Sacha Guitry and appeared in a number of his productions on both stage and screen. Selected filmography * '' Let's Get Married'' (1931) * '' T ...

'', with

Azzedine Alaïa Azzedine Alaïa (; ar, عز الدين عليّة, ʿIzz ad-Dīn ʿAlayya, ; 26 February 1935 – 18 November 2017) was a Tunisian couturier and shoe designer, particularly successful beginning in the 1980s. Early life Alaïa was born in Tunis, ...

Jean-Claude Brialy Jean-Claude Brialy (30 March 1933 – 30 May 2007) was a French actor and film director. Early life Brialy was born in Aumale (now Sour El-Ghozlane), French Algeria, where his father was stationed with the French Army. Brialy moved to mainland ...

Pierre Cardin Pierre Cardin (, , ), born Pietro Costante Cardino (2 July 1922 – 29 December 2020), was an Italian-born naturalised-French fashion designer. He is known for what were his avant-garde style and Space Age designs. He preferred geometric shap ...

... (and al.), Adam Biro Ed., 1994. .

References

Dominique Sirop
Official site (English version) (accessed 24 September 2007)

from informat.com (accessed 24 September 2007)
Dominique Sirop biography
from toffsworld.com (accessed 24 September 2007)
Fashion: The house that Dominique built
profile by Ian Phillips in ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', London, 6 August 1997 (accessed 25 September 2007)
Fashion : Gaultier's wild gallop to the end
article by

Suzy Menkes Suzy Peta Menkes (born 24 December 1943) is a British journalist and fashion critic. Formerly the fashion editor for the International Herald Tribune, Menkes also served as editor, Vogue International, for 25 international editions of ''Vogue'' ...

in ''

International Herald Tribune The ''International Herald Tribune'' (''IHT'') was a daily English-language newspaper published in Paris, France for international English-speaking readers. It had the aim of becoming "the world's first global newspaper" and could fairly be said ...

'', 9 July 2004 (accessed 25 September 2007)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sirop, Dominique 1956 births French fashion designers Haute couture Living people Artists from Paris