Marie Madeleine Duchapt, also known as only La Duchapt (d. ''after'' 1761), was a famous French fashion merchant (''

Marchandes de modes Marchande de modes was a French Guild organisation for women fashion merchants or milliners, normally meaning ornaments for headdresses, hats and dresses, within the city of Paris, active from August 1776 until 1791. It played a dominating role wit ...

''). Active from the 1730s to 1760s, she succeeded

Françoise Leclerc Françoise Leclerc (d. 1739) was a French fashion merchant and seamstress, and the official seamstress of the French queen Marie Leszczyńska. She was a leading figure of the fashion world in Paris during the 1720s and 1730s, with a large clientele ...

as the most fashionable fashion merchant in Paris. She has been referred to as the first famous fashion celebrity of the Parisian fashion business and was a predecessor of

Rose Bertin Marie-Jeanne Rose Bertin (2 July 1747, Abbeville, Picardy, France – 22 September 1813, Épinay-sur-Seine) was a French milliner ('' Marchande de modes''), known as the dressmaker to Queen Marie Antoinette. She was the first celebrated Fr ...

Biography

Marie Madeleine Duchapt has been referred to as Madame Duchapt, Mademoiselle Duchapt and finally, when she was most famous, as only 'La Duchapt'. She was reportedly married to the mercer Martin Arnaud Loysant; at that time, it was common for fashion merchants to be the wives of textile mercers. In her epoch, however, it was not unusual for married women to be called "Mademoiselle", as the title "Madame" denoted prestige.

Career

She was the manager of the famous Paris fashion accessories shop '' Chande de modes'', and came to the fore in 1734, when she began receiving orders from women of the nobility. At this time,

, the official dressmaker of the queen, was in failing health and Duchapt supplanted Leclerc in that role. During the period 1740–1770, dresses were produced by seamstresses or tailors. The basic dress model remained the same, but fashion was expressed by changes in trimming, hats and accessories, which was why fashion merchants such as Duchapt had such influence. While the guild of fashion merchants, ''

'', was not created before 1776, the profession had existed for a least half a century, and became reality after the success of merchants such as Duchapt. She had clients among both the Parisian aristocracy as well as the ladies-in-waiting of the Court of Versailles.

Charles Philippe d'Albert de Luynes Charles-Philippe d’Albert Duc de Luynes (30 July 1695 – 2 November 1758) held the title Duke of Luynes from 1712 to 1758. He wrote an important memoir of life at the court of Louis XV. Early life Charles-Philippe was a grandson of Charles ...

noted that she traveled to Spain in 1739 with her client, the king's mistress

Louise Julie de Mailly Louise Julie de Mailly-Nesle, comtesse de Mailly (; 1710–1751) was the eldest of the five famous ''de Nesle'' sisters, four of whom would become the mistress of King Louis XV of France. She was his mistress from 1732 until 1742, and his offici ...

, in order to study how to dress Mailly for the up-coming French-Spanish Royal wedding. She is still mentioned as being celebrated in 1756, and is noted in the records as active in 1761. She was the rival of

Mademoiselle Alexandre Mademoiselle Alexandre (d. ''after'' 1779), was a French fashion merchant ('' Marchandes de modes''). Mademoiselle Alexandre came from a family of dressmakers. In 1740, she opened a fashion shop at the Rue de la Monnaie in Paris. She foremost sold ...

, who had succeeded her as the leading fashion merchant of Paris by 1772, when Duchapt is referred to as a "former celebrity".

Legacy

Marie Madeleine Duchapt is mentioned in contemporary letters, memoirs and novels.

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—es ...

referred to her fame in a 1752 letter to

Madame du Deffand Marie Anne de Vichy-Chamrond, marquise du Deffand (25 September 1696 – 23 September 1780) was a French hostess and patron of the arts. Life Madame du Deffand was born at the Château de Chamrond, in Ligny-en-Brionnais, a village near Charolle ...

as an illustration of the shallowness of the epoch of

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached ...

in contrast to that of

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ver ...

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...

mentions her atelier in his memoirs as a popular place for those wishing to get to know Paris, and noted that many men visited her shop to speak to her shop girls. She was portrayed in a contemporary novel, ''La Sainte Nitouche, ou Histoire galante de la Tourière des Carmélites, suivie de l'histoire de La Duchapt, célèbre marchand de mode'' (London, 1748; rev. ed. Paris, 1830)Hunt, Lynn:
The Invention of Pornography, 1500–1800: Obscenity and the Origins of Modernity
'

References

{{reflist 18th-century deaths 18th-century French businesswomen Year of birth missing Year of death missing French fashion designers French women fashion designers