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{{about||other people named Mattli|Mattli (surname)}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| name = Mattli
| name = Mattli
Line 4: Line 5:
| caption =
| caption =
| birthname = Gustav Joseph Mattli
| birthname = Gustav Joseph Mattli
| birth_date = 14 june 1904
| birth_date = 14 June 1904
| birth_place = [[Seelisberg]], Switzerland
| birth_place = [[Locarno]], Switzerland<ref name="Oxford DNB Qunton">{{cite book|last1=Quinton|first1=Rebecca|title=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography|date=2004|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|edition=2004|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/72986|accessdate=14 September 2014}}</ref>
| death_date = 9 February 1982
| death_date = 9 February 1982
| death_place = [[Curridge]], [[Berkshire]]
| death_place = [[Curridge]], [[Berkshire]], England
| other_names = Jo Mattli
| other_names = Jo Mattli
| occupation = Fashion designer
| occupation = Fashion designer
| organization = [[Incorporated Society of London Fashion Designers]]<ref name="1950s Baker">{{cite book|last1=Baker|first1=Patricia|title=The 1950s: Fashions of a Decade|date=2007|publisher=Chelsea House|location=New York, NY|isbn=9780816067213|pages=23–25|url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=WF3O5utMJrEC&pg=PA23&lpg=PA23&dq=Mattli+%2B+fashion+designer}}</ref>
| organization = [[Incorporated Society of London Fashion Designers]]<ref name="1950s Baker">{{cite book|last1=Baker|first1=Patricia|title=The 1950s: Fashions of a Decade|date=2007|publisher=Chelsea House|location=New York, NY|isbn=9780816067213|pages=23–25|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WF3O5utMJrEC&q=Mattli+%2B+fashion+designer&pg=PA23}}</ref>
}}
}}


'''Mattli''' (1907&ndash;1982), also sometimes '''Jo Mattli''', was a Swiss-born and London-based fashion designer known for his couture designs and, later, his ready-to-wear clothing and couture patterns.
'''Giuseppe Mattli''' (1907&ndash;1982), usually known as '''Mattli''' or '''Jo Mattli''', was a Swiss-born and London-based fashion designer known for his couture designs and, later, his ready-to-wear clothing and couture patterns.


A member of the [[Incorporated Society of London Fashion Designers]] (IncSoc) – making him a key player in shaping London's post-[[World War II|war]] couture industry – he was characterised by British ''[[Vogue (British magazine)|Vogue]]'' in March 1953 as a go-to designer women could trust: "Mattli's clothes have charming wearable qualities...One feels he cares more about dressing women than putting over fashion themes, good though his are."<ref name="Oxford DNB Qunton"/>
A member of the [[Incorporated Society of London Fashion Designers]] (IncSoc) – making him a key player in shaping London's post-[[World War II|war]] couture industry – he was characterised by British ''[[Vogue (British magazine)|Vogue]]'' in March 1953 as a go-to designer women could trust: "Mattli's clothes have charming wearable qualities...One feels he cares more about dressing women than putting over fashion themes, good though his are."<ref name="Oxford DNB Qunton">{{cite book|last1=Quinton|first1=Rebecca|title=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography|date=2004|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|edition=2004|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/72986|accessdate=14 September 2014}}</ref>


==Early life and career==
==Early life and career==
Giuseppe Gustavo Mattli was born in Locarno, Switzerland and grew up in the Italian-speaking southern city of [[Lugano]] as one of a family of 14 children (12 of them were girls).<ref name="Oxford DNB Qunton"/> Mattli's career began as an apprentice to an oil company in Switzerland, but he moved to England in 1926 to learn English and acquire tailoring skills. He continued his training in Paris, working at the fashion house of [[Premet]], returning to London to open his own couture house in 1934.<ref name="Oxford DNB Qunton"/> Within four years he was showing in Paris, but the outbreak of [[World War II|war]] meant a return to London.<ref name="Oxford DNB Qunton"/>
Giuseppe Gustavo Mattli was born in Locarno, Switzerland and grew up in the Italian-speaking southern city of [[Lugano]] as one of a family of 14 children (12 of them were girls).<ref name="Oxford DNB Qunton"/> Mattli's career began as an apprentice to an oil company in Switzerland, but he moved to England in 1926 to learn English and acquire tailoring skills. He continued his training in Paris, working at the fashion house of [[Premet]], returning to London to open his own couture house in 1934.<ref name="Oxford DNB Qunton"/> Within four years he was showing in Paris, but the outbreak of [[World War II|war]] meant a return to London.<ref name="Oxford DNB Qunton"/>


Mattli's first wife Olga, whom he married sometime before 1934, was one of his models and also designed hats for some of his gowns.<ref name="Oxford DNB Qunton"/> His French-born second wife Claude, whom he married in 1947, had worked as a model for Ardanse, Desses and [[Jean Patou]] before moving to London and working for the [[Free France|Free French]]. An article in the ''[[Sydney Morning Herald]]'' on the women behind London's top designers, described her as 'director-vendeuse' (head of sales) and occasional model for evening gowns – also noting that the "beautiful" Claude was a keen housewife but Jo Mattli was the chef in their flat in Kensington.<ref name="SMH women">{{cite news|last1=staff|title=Women behind 'big ten' London designers|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1301&dat=19520120&id=1KITAAAAIBAJ&sjid=SK8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=7259,2341354|accessdate=13 August 2014|work=Sydney Morning Herald|date=20 January 1952}}</ref>
Mattli's first wife Olga, whom he married sometime before 1934, was one of his models and also designed hats for some of his gowns.<ref name="Oxford DNB Qunton"/> His French-born second wife Claude, whom he married in 1947, had worked as a model for Ardanse, Desses and [[Jean Patou]] before moving to London and working for the [[Free France|Free French]]. An article in the ''[[Sydney Morning Herald]]'' on the women behind London's top designers, described her as 'director-vendeuse' (head of sales) and occasional model for evening gowns – also noting that the "beautiful" Claude was a keen housewife but Jo Mattli was the chef in their flat in Kensington.<ref name="SMH women">{{cite news|last1=staff|title=Women behind 'big ten' London designers|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1301&dat=19520120&id=1KITAAAAIBAJ&pg=7259,2341354|accessdate=13 August 2014|work=Sydney Morning Herald|date=20 January 1952}}</ref>


==Couture house==
==Couture house==
Mattli was among the earliest members of IncSoc and, in common with other major London couturiers, was involved in promoting British fashion designed around [[Utility clothing|utility]] principles during and immediately after the war.<ref name="How Fashion Works Waddell">{{cite book|last1=Waddell|first1=Gavin|title=How Fashion Works: Couture, Ready-to-Wear and Mass Production|date=2004|publisher=Blackwell Science|location=Oxford|isbn=9780632057528|pages=175–7|url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=GX-uAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA175}}</ref> Once the strictures of rationing were relaxed, IncSoc set out to promote its role, and that of British couture as a rival to Paris.<ref name="1950s Baker"/> One of Mattli's outfits – an elegant silk cocktail gown – was included in the fashion show sequence in the popular 1949 comedy ''[[Maytime in Mayfair]]''.<ref name="BFI Maytime">{{cite web|title=Maytime in Mayfair (1949)|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/516661/credits.html|website=screenonline.org.uk|publisher=British Film Institute|accessdate=10 August 2014}}</ref> He shared premises in [[Knightsbridge]] with fellow IncSoc member [[Charles Creed]] after the war.<ref name="Oxford DNB Qunton"/><ref name="How Fashion Works Waddell"/>
Mattli was among the earliest members of IncSoc and, in common with other major London couturiers, was involved in promoting British fashion designed around [[Utility clothing|utility]] principles during and immediately after the war.<ref name="How Fashion Works Waddell">{{cite book|last1=Waddell|first1=Gavin|title=How Fashion Works: Couture, Ready-to-Wear and Mass Production|date=2004|publisher=Blackwell Science|location=Oxford|isbn=9780632057528|pages=175–7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GX-uAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA175}}</ref> Once the strictures of rationing were relaxed, IncSoc set out to promote its role, and that of British couture as a rival to Paris.<ref name="1950s Baker"/> One of Mattli's outfits – an elegant silk cocktail gown – was included in the fashion show sequence in the popular 1949 comedy ''[[Maytime in Mayfair]]''.<ref name="BFI Maytime">{{cite web|title=Maytime in Mayfair (1949)|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/516661/credits.html|website=screenonline.org.uk|publisher=British Film Institute|accessdate=10 August 2014}}</ref> He shared premises in [[Knightsbridge]] with fellow IncSoc member [[Charles Creed]] after the war.<ref name="Oxford DNB Qunton"/><ref name="How Fashion Works Waddell"/>


London couturiers were kept busy creating gowns for [[debutante]]s and society matrons in the run up to the 1953 [[Coronation of Elizabeth II|coronation]] of [[Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth]] and Mattli was among the so-called "big ten" designers photographed for lavish feature in ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]''.<ref name="Life Greene">{{cite news|last1=Greene|first1=Milton|last2=staff writer|title=Britain dresses up for the Queen|url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=CUIEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA118&lpg=PA118&dq=Peter+Russell+Fashion+Designer+%2B+hunting|work=Life|date=30 March 1953}}</ref> As ''Vogue'' highlighted, Mattli was perhaps more at home creating practical and wearable fashion focusing on understated fine detailing.<ref name="Oxford DNB Qunton"/> His autumn 1952 collection – singled out by one fashion commentator as one of the best of the season – included traditional [[Donegal tweed]] coats and slimline afternoon and cocktail dreses in [[bouclé]] wool, silk jersey and lace.<ref name="Glasgow Herald Mattli">{{cite news|last1=staff|title="Big eleven" designers' fashion show over|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2507&dat=19520731&id=11tAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xJMMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3606,2707163|accessdate=21 August 2014|publisher=Glasgow Herald|date=31 July 1952}}</ref>
London couturiers were kept busy creating gowns for [[debutante]]s and society matrons in the run-up to the 1953 [[Coronation of Elizabeth II|coronation]] of [[Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth]]. Mattli was among the so-called "big ten" designers photographed for lavish features in ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]''.<ref name="Life Greene">{{cite news|last1=Greene|first1=Milton|last2=staff writer|title=Britain dresses up for the Queen|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CUIEAAAAMBAJ&q=Peter+Russell+Fashion+Designer+%2B+hunting&pg=PA118|work=Life|date=30 March 1953}}</ref> As ''Vogue'' highlighted, Mattli was perhaps more at home creating practical and wearable fashion focusing on understated fine detailing.<ref name="Oxford DNB Qunton"/> His autumn 1952 collection – singled out by one fashion commentator as one of the best of the season – included traditional [[Donegal tweed]] coats and slimline afternoon and cocktail dresses in [[bouclé]] wool, silk jersey and lace.<ref name="Glasgow Herald Mattli">{{cite news|last1=staff|title="Big eleven" designers' fashion show over|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2507&dat=19520731&id=11tAAAAAIBAJ&pg=3606,2707163|accessdate=21 August 2014|publisher=Glasgow Herald|date=31 July 1952}}</ref>


==Ready-to-wear fashion==
==Ready-to-wear fashion==
In 1955, the company Mattli worked with went into liquidation, signalling his move away from couture and into ready-to-wear clothing.<ref name="Oxford DNB Qunton"/> Unlike many of the other IncSoc members, Mattli's name remained familiar throughout the 1960s and early '70s, not only on ready-to-wear clothing but also the burgeoning [[Pattern (sewing)|sewing pattern]] market – the signature 'Jo Mattli' appeared on many patterns for ''Vogue'''s couturier series and he told ''[[The Guardian]]'' that the royalties from these patterns had helped support his couture business.<ref name="Guardian Adburgham">{{cite news|last1=Adburgham|first1=Alison|title=Giving couture the boutique|publisher=The Guardian|date=23 January 1973|accessdate=15 September 2014}}</ref> He was also an expert contributor to the 1967 [[BBC]] sewing series ''Clothes that Count'', helping to customise a [[Shirtdress|shirtwaister]] pattern for a keen sewer who appeared on the programme and also contributing to the ''[[Radio Times]]'' features that accompanied the series.<ref name="BBC archive">{{cite web|title=Archive: Jo Mattli|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/people/56/35.shtml|website=bbc.co.uk|publisher=BBC|accessdate=14 September 2014}}</ref>
In 1955, the company Mattli worked with went into liquidation, signalling his move away from couture and into ready-to-wear clothing.<ref name="Oxford DNB Qunton"/> Unlike many of the other IncSoc members, Mattli's name remained familiar throughout the 1960s and early '70s, not only on ready-to-wear clothing but also the burgeoning [[Pattern (sewing)|sewing pattern]] market – the signature 'Jo Mattli' appeared on many patterns for ''Vogue'''s couturier series and he told ''[[The Guardian]]'' that the royalties from these patterns had helped support his couture business.<ref name="Guardian Adburgham">{{cite news|last1=Adburgham|first1=Alison|title=Giving couture the boutique|work=The Guardian|date=23 January 1973}}</ref> He was also an expert contributor to the 1967 [[BBC]] sewing series ''Clothes that Count'', helping to customise a [[Shirtdress|shirtwaister]] pattern for a keen sewer who appeared on the programme and also contributing to the ''[[Radio Times]]'' features that accompanied the series.<ref name="BBC archive">{{cite web|title=Archive: Jo Mattli|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/people/56/35.shtml|website=bbc.co.uk|publisher=BBC|accessdate=14 September 2014}}</ref>


By 1973, Mattli was running a 'Continental boutique' on the premises where his couture house had once stood. Retaining a small number of workroom staff for alterations, he was presenting collections selected from Swiss, Italian and French houses, including designers such as [[Nina Ricci (brand)|Nina Ricci]]. He described this move into ready-to-wear as meeting the needs of modern women, who wanted fashion immediately that could be changed frequently: "I have come to the conclusion that couture has now outlived its purpose".<ref name="Guardian Adburgham"/> Mattli's name as a London couturier still carried weight and he collaborated with the designer [[Christopher McDonnell]] in 1980 for an autumn collection – Christopher McDonnell for Mattli.<ref name="Observer Boyd">{{cite news|last1=Boyd|first1=Ann|title=Past the fall|accessdate=18 October 2014|publisher=The Observer|date=10 August 1980|ref=p.33}}</ref>
By 1973, Mattli was running a 'Continental boutique' on the premises where his couture house had once stood. Retaining a small number of workroom staff for alterations, he was presenting collections selected from Swiss, Italian and French houses, including designers such as [[Nina Ricci (brand)|Nina Ricci]]. He described this move into ready-to-wear as meeting the needs of modern women, who wanted fashion immediately that could be changed frequently: "I have come to the conclusion that couture has now outlived its purpose".<ref name="Guardian Adburgham"/> Mattli's name as a London couturier still carried weight and he collaborated with the designer [[Christopher McDonnell]] in 1980 for an autumn collection – Christopher McDonnell for Mattli.<ref name="Observer Boyd">{{cite news|last1=Boyd|first1=Ann|title=Past the fall|publisher=The Observer|date=10 August 1980|ref=p.33}}</ref>


Mattli retired to the village of [[Curridge]], [[Berkshire]], where he died in 1982.<ref name="Oxford DNB Qunton"/>
Mattli retired to the village of [[Curridge]], [[Berkshire]], where he died in 1982.<ref name="Oxford DNB Qunton"/>
Line 41: Line 42:


==External links==
==External links==
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/whatwewore/5601.shtml Clothes that Count, featuring Mattli]
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/whatwewore/5601.shtml Clothes that Count, featuring Mattli]

{{authority control}}


[[Category:1907 births]]
[[Category:1907 births]]
[[Category:1982 deaths]]
[[Category:1982 deaths]]
[[Category:Swiss fashion designers]]
[[Category:Swiss fashion designers]]
[[Category:English people of Swiss descent]]
[[Category:Swiss emigrants to the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Swiss expatriates in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:1930s fashion]]
[[Category:1930s fashion]]
[[Category:1940s fashion]]
[[Category:1940s fashion]]
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[[Category:1960s fashion]]
[[Category:1960s fashion]]
[[Category:1970s fashion]]
[[Category:1970s fashion]]
[[Category:People from Locarno]]

Latest revision as of 09:46, 9 November 2023

For other people named Mattli, see Mattli (surname).
Mattli
Born
Gustav Joseph Mattli

14 June 1904
Seelisberg, Switzerland
Died9 February 1982
Curridge, Berkshire, England
Other namesJo Mattli
OccupationFashion designer
OrganizationIncorporated Society of London Fashion Designers[1]

Giuseppe Mattli (1907–1982), usually known as Mattli or Jo Mattli, was a Swiss-born and London-based fashion designer known for his couture designs and, later, his ready-to-wear clothing and couture patterns.

A member of the Incorporated Society of London Fashion Designers (IncSoc) – making him a key player in shaping London's post-war couture industry – he was characterised by British Vogue in March 1953 as a go-to designer women could trust: "Mattli's clothes have charming wearable qualities...One feels he cares more about dressing women than putting over fashion themes, good though his are."[2]

Early life and career

[edit]

Giuseppe Gustavo Mattli was born in Locarno, Switzerland and grew up in the Italian-speaking southern city of Lugano as one of a family of 14 children (12 of them were girls).[2] Mattli's career began as an apprentice to an oil company in Switzerland, but he moved to England in 1926 to learn English and acquire tailoring skills. He continued his training in Paris, working at the fashion house of Premet, returning to London to open his own couture house in 1934.[2] Within four years he was showing in Paris, but the outbreak of war meant a return to London.[2]

Mattli's first wife Olga, whom he married sometime before 1934, was one of his models and also designed hats for some of his gowns.[2] His French-born second wife Claude, whom he married in 1947, had worked as a model for Ardanse, Desses and Jean Patou before moving to London and working for the Free French. An article in the Sydney Morning Herald on the women behind London's top designers, described her as 'director-vendeuse' (head of sales) and occasional model for evening gowns – also noting that the "beautiful" Claude was a keen housewife but Jo Mattli was the chef in their flat in Kensington.[3]

Couture house

[edit]

Mattli was among the earliest members of IncSoc and, in common with other major London couturiers, was involved in promoting British fashion designed around utility principles during and immediately after the war.[4] Once the strictures of rationing were relaxed, IncSoc set out to promote its role, and that of British couture as a rival to Paris.[1] One of Mattli's outfits – an elegant silk cocktail gown – was included in the fashion show sequence in the popular 1949 comedy Maytime in Mayfair.[5] He shared premises in Knightsbridge with fellow IncSoc member Charles Creed after the war.[2][4]

London couturiers were kept busy creating gowns for debutantes and society matrons in the run-up to the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth. Mattli was among the so-called "big ten" designers photographed for lavish features in Life.[6] As Vogue highlighted, Mattli was perhaps more at home creating practical and wearable fashion focusing on understated fine detailing.[2] His autumn 1952 collection – singled out by one fashion commentator as one of the best of the season – included traditional Donegal tweed coats and slimline afternoon and cocktail dresses in bouclé wool, silk jersey and lace.[7]

Ready-to-wear fashion

[edit]

In 1955, the company Mattli worked with went into liquidation, signalling his move away from couture and into ready-to-wear clothing.[2] Unlike many of the other IncSoc members, Mattli's name remained familiar throughout the 1960s and early '70s, not only on ready-to-wear clothing but also the burgeoning sewing pattern market – the signature 'Jo Mattli' appeared on many patterns for Vogue's couturier series and he told The Guardian that the royalties from these patterns had helped support his couture business.[8] He was also an expert contributor to the 1967 BBC sewing series Clothes that Count, helping to customise a shirtwaister pattern for a keen sewer who appeared on the programme and also contributing to the Radio Times features that accompanied the series.[9]

By 1973, Mattli was running a 'Continental boutique' on the premises where his couture house had once stood. Retaining a small number of workroom staff for alterations, he was presenting collections selected from Swiss, Italian and French houses, including designers such as Nina Ricci. He described this move into ready-to-wear as meeting the needs of modern women, who wanted fashion immediately that could be changed frequently: "I have come to the conclusion that couture has now outlived its purpose".[8] Mattli's name as a London couturier still carried weight and he collaborated with the designer Christopher McDonnell in 1980 for an autumn collection – Christopher McDonnell for Mattli.[10]

Mattli retired to the village of Curridge, Berkshire, where he died in 1982.[2]

Legacy

[edit]

There are examples of Mattli's work in the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Fashion Museum, Bath has an archive of press books and sketches, as well as a small number of garments.[2][11] He is the subject of a thesis entitled Famous, Forgotten. Found: rediscovering the career of London couture fashion designer Giuseppe (Jo) Mattli, 1934-1980 by textile conservationist Dr Caroline Ness.[12] University of Glasgow has been working with the Fashion Museum, Bath to create a catalogue and database to provide researchers with access to material about Mattli's 30-year-plus involvement with the British high fashion industry.[11]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Baker, Patricia (2007). The 1950s: Fashions of a Decade. New York, NY: Chelsea House. pp. 23–25. ISBN 9780816067213.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Quinton, Rebecca (2004). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
  3. ^ staff (20 January 1952). "Women behind 'big ten' London designers". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  4. ^ a b Waddell, Gavin (2004). How Fashion Works: Couture, Ready-to-Wear and Mass Production. Oxford: Blackwell Science. pp. 175–7. ISBN 9780632057528.
  5. ^ "Maytime in Mayfair (1949)". screenonline.org.uk. British Film Institute. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  6. ^ Greene, Milton; staff writer (30 March 1953). "Britain dresses up for the Queen". Life.
  7. ^ staff (31 July 1952). ""Big eleven" designers' fashion show over". Glasgow Herald. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  8. ^ a b Adburgham, Alison (23 January 1973). "Giving couture the boutique". The Guardian.
  9. ^ "Archive: Jo Mattli". bbc.co.uk. BBC. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
  10. ^ Boyd, Ann (10 August 1980). "Past the fall". The Observer.
  11. ^ a b "Dress & Textiles Case Study: Jo Mattli and his contribution to the British fashion and textile industry". gla.ac.uk. University of Glasgow. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
  12. ^ Ness, Caroline. "Finding Jo Mattli: the forgotten couturier". textileconservation.academicblogs.co.uk. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
[edit]
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