Jacques Heim (8 May 1899 – 8 January 1967) was a French fashion designer and costume designer for theater and film, and was a manufacturer of women's

furs Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket t ...

. From 1930 to his death in 1967, he ran the fashion house (''maison de

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 ...

'') ''Jacques Heim'', which closed in 1969. He was president of the

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

'' Chambre Syndicale de la haute couture'' from 1958 to 1962, a period of transition from ''

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 ...

'' to

ready-to-wear 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 clothing ...

clothing.

Early life

Jacques Heim was born in Paris. His parents were Isidore and Jeanne Heim, Jews of Polish origin.

Career

In the early 1920s, Heim started working in his parents' fur business, which they had founded in 1898.Jacques Heim
at FashionEncyclopedia.com He took over the business in 1923, and within a few years had added a couture department,Jacques Heim
at Vintage Fashion Guild designing dresses and coats, made with original fabrics, working in collaboration with

Sonia Delaunay Sonia Delaunay (13 November 1885 – 5 December 1979) was a French artist, who spent most of her working life in Paris. She was born in Odessa (then part of Russian Empire), and formally trained in Russian Empire and Germany before moving to Fr ...

. In 1930, the workshop became the fashion house ''Jacques Heim''. He also made ready-to-wear and in 1936 started a line for younger women, ''Heim Jeunes Filles''. In 1932, Heim created a two-piece swimsuit consisting of a bra with ruffles and pretty bloomers, which he called the ''Atome''. However, women were not yet ready to reveal their midriff, with only a few daring to wear his swimsuit. He was harassed during the

Nazi occupation of France The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...

, but managed to stay in business by putting a non-Jewish "front man" in charge of his fashion house. He was an active member of the

French resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

. In 1946 Heim started a chain of sportswear boutiques. In June 1946, he relaunched his two-piece swimsuit, the ''Atome'', which he advertised as "the world's smallest bathing suit." However, on 5 July 1946,

Louis Réard Louis Réard (; 10 October 1896 – 16 September 1984) was a French automobile engineer and clothing designer who introduced the modern two-piece bikini in July 1946. He opened a bikini shop and ran it for the next 40 years. Launching the bikini ...

, a French engineer, had a Paris stripper pose before reporters in an even briefer two-piece swimsuit, which Réard called the

Bikini A bikini is a two-piece swimsuit primarily worn by women that features two triangles of fabric on top that cover the breasts, and two triangles of fabric on the bottom: the front covering the pelvis but exposing the navel, and the back coveri ...

, and which he promoted as "smaller than the smallest bathing suit". Réard's design, unlike Heim's, for the first time presented a female swimsuit with the navel exposed. Though financially successful, the bikini was very controversial. Réard's name for the swimsuit caught on, and became the common name for the style of swimwear. In 1950, Heim launched another ready-to-wear line, ''Heim Actualité''. Under the presidency of Charles de Gaulle, he was appointed designer of the president's wife,

Yvonne de Gaulle Yvonne Charlotte Anne-Marie de Gaulle ( née Vendroux; 22 May 1900 – 8 November 1979) was the wife of Charles de Gaulle. The couple had three children: Philippe (b. 1921), Élisabeth (1924–2013), and Anne (1928–1948), who was born with ...

. His most prominent clients were

Sophia Loren Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone (; born 20 September 1934), known professionally as Sophia Loren ( , ), is an Italian actress. She was named by the American Film Institute as one of the greatest female stars of Classical Hollywood ci ...

Queen Fabiola of Belgium Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mothe ...

Mamie Eisenhower Mary Geneva "Mamie" Eisenhower (; November 14, 1896 – November 1, 1979) was the first lady of the United States from 1953 to 1961 as the wife of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Born in Boone, Iowa, she was raised in a wealthy household in C ...

and actress

Gloria Swanson Gloria May Josephine Swanson (March 27, 1899April 4, 1983) was an American actress and producer. She first achieved fame acting in dozens of silent films in the 1920s and was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, most f ...

. In 1956, Heim made the bikini an international sensation when

Brigitte Bardot Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot ( ; ; born 28 September 1934), often referred to by her initials B.B., is a former French actress, singer and model. Famous for portraying sexually emancipated characters with hedonistic lifestyles, she was one of the ...

wore one of his designs. Heim served as President of ''Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne'' (Paris Fashion Trade Association) from 1958 to 1962.

Legacy

Heim had a son, Philippe, and a daughter, Arianne. Jacques died in

Neuilly-sur-Seine Neuilly-sur-Seine (; literally 'Neuilly on Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is a commune in the department of Hauts-de-Seine in France, just west of Paris. Immediately adjacent to the city, the area is composed of mostly select residentia ...

, a suburb of Paris, at age 67. In August 1968, Philippe Heim took over ''Jacques Heim'' and all associated companies and stores, but the business was sold in 1969 to French bridalwear concern

Henri Michmacher Henri is an Estonian, Finnish, French, German and Luxembourgish form of the masculine given name Henry. People with this given name ; French noblemen :'' See the 'List of rulers named Henry' for Kings of France named Henri.'' * Henri I de Montm ...

, who owned several boutiques under the name of Pronuptia. Heim's grandson, also named

Jacques Heim Jacques Heim (8 May 1899 – 8 January 1967) was a French fashion designer and costume designer for theater and film, and was a manufacturer of women's furs. From 1930 to his death in 1967, he ran the fashion house (''maison de couture'') ''Ja ...

, is a choreographer, director of the DIAVOLO , Architecture in Motion, a Los Angeles-based dance company.

Early life

Career

Legacy

References

Further reading