Maud Frizon de Marco (born Danielle Maud Frizon; 1941 in
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 ...
, France) is a fashion designer specializing in women's shoes. She began her career in the 1960s as a model for Parisian Haute Couture Houses of
Nina Ricci,
Jean Patou
Jean Patou (; 27 September 1887 – 8 March 1936) was a French fashion designer, and founder of the Jean Patou brand.
Early life
Patou was born in Paris, France in 1887. Patou's family's business was tanning and furs. Patou worked with his ...
, and
André Courrèges
André Courrèges (; 9 March 1923 – 7 January 2016) was a French fashion designer. He was particularly known for his streamlined 1960s designs influenced by modernism and futurism, exploiting modern technology and new fabrics. Courrèges d ...
. At the time models had to provide their own shoes to match the clothes designers assigned them for their
runway
According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...
shows and
photo shoots. Frizon disliked the available shoes from other designers, and in 1969 elected to create her own and opened her first boutique in the
Saint-Germain-des-Prés district of Paris.
That first shoe collection, with each pair hand-cut and finished, was praised by critics as sexy and unpredictable. Frizon was an immediate success. Building on the traditions of
Beth Levine Beth Levine may refer to:
*Beth Levine (fashion designer) (1914–2006), American fashion designer
*Beth Levine (physician), medical doctor and researcher
{{Hndis, Levine, Beth ...
and foreshadowing the later designs of
Manolo Blahnik, Frizon shoes were showy and extravagant, and her name joined the ranks of the
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 ...
boutiques. At the height of her success in the 1980s her reputation was similar to that of Blahnik today.
Frizon often used expensive and everyday materials together in unusual combinations:
lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...
and
snake
Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...
,
suede and
satin,
canvas
Canvas is an extremely durable plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, shelters, as a support for oil painting and for other items for which sturdiness is required, as well as in such fashion objects as handbags ...
and
crocodile
Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to inclu ...
.
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 ...
was a regular at the boutique, famous for her love of Frizon's high-heeled Russian boots.
In ''Shoes – Fashion and Fantasy'' Colin McDowell wrote "If shoes can be said to have a personality, none have more so than the products of Maud Frizon's imagination.
hey are
Hey or Hey! may refer to:
Music
* Hey (band), a Polish rock band
Albums
* Hey (Andreas Bourani album), ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014
* Hey! (Julio Iglesias album), ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the ti ...
original and innovative shoes that
reto footwear what
Dom Perignon is to champagne".
Although Frizon released shoes under her brands Maud Frizon and Miss Maud, she also designed footwear for
Azzedine Alaia,
Missoni
Missoni is an Italian luxury fashion house based in Varese, and known for its colorful knitwear designs. The company was founded by Ottavio ("Tai") and Rosita Missoni in 1953.
History Early beginnings
The business was founded in 1953, when O ...
and
Sonia Rykiel
Sonia Rykiel (; ; 25 May 1930 – 25 August 2016) was a French fashion designer and writer. She created the Poor Boy Sweater, which was featured on the cover of French ''Elle'' magazine. Her knitwear designs and new fashion techniques led her t ...
, among others. She is credited with introducing the 1978-79 cone heel that continued into the early 1980s, and she was the exclusive shoe designer at that time for the influential
Thierry Mugler
Manfred Thierry Mugler (; 21 December 1948 – 23 January 2022) was a French fashion designer, creative director and creative adviser of Mugler. In the 1970s, Mugler launched his eponymous fashion house; and quickly rose to prominence in the fo ...
and
Claude Montana
Claude Montana (29 June 1947 in Paris) is a French fashion designer. His company, The House of Montana, founded in 1979, went bankrupt in 1997.
Early life and Design career
Born in Paris in 1947 to a Catalan father and a German mother, Montana be ...
lines.
She is married to Luigi De Marco
/ref> with whom she founded and operated her company.
In 1999 Frizon and De Marco sold the company and its brands to Helene Wajnblum-Liu
Helene or Hélène may refer to: People
*Helene (given name), a Greek feminine given name
* Helen of Troy, the daughter of Zeus and Leda
*Helene, a figure in Greek mythology who was a friend of Aphrodite and helped her seduce Adonis
* Helene (A ...
and her husband, who added handbags and leather accessories to the line as well as expanding the chain of Frizon boutiques. The firm remains headquartered in Paris, with boutiques in Paris, Lyon, New York, Beijing and Hong Kong.
References
External links
Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frizon, Maud
1941 births
Living people
French fashion designers
French women fashion designers
Shoe designers