The Insider: Rose de Vauville

Her creations sit in the intriguing space where fashion and art meet – a space that the Paris-born de Vauville has herself inhabited for much of her life.

Jolie Madame, a collage on paper by Rose de Vauville. Courtesy Rose de Vauville

De Vauville’s was a childhood filled with visits to museums and galleries – including weekly trips to the Louvre with her parents. Her mother was an artist, while her grandmother was the very embodiment of a stylish Parisian lady.

“I learned a great deal from her,” de Vauville recalls. “She was such an elegant lady. She taught me the subtleties of refinement and femininity and, most importantly, what it takes for one to dress in an elegant way.”

De Vauville’s career would take her to France’s great fashion houses – learning the ropes at Ungaro, heading the accessories studio at Balmain, designing accessories and scarves at Guerlain and then, for 15 years, serving under John Galliano at Dior as head of silk work – but she started out studying fine art in Paris. And now, her focus has returned firmly to art. “I always knew that eventually I would create pieces in my own name,” she says. “For so many years I enjoyed gaining a great wealth of experience; finally the time felt right.”

Last month, de Vauville held her first exhibition in Dubai, showcasing 20 of her pieces at the 1x1 Gallery in Al Quoz. “Dubai has so much energy, it seemed like the perfect choice for this exhibition,” she enthuses. “I love the buzz of this city in everything from arts to architecture, to cuisine, to commerce – the list is endless. It really feels like one of the world’s meeting places.”

De Vauville’s works are difficult to categorise, and even more so to capture in words – chiffons, pleated satins, embroidered silks, feathers, velvet, flowers, fur, jewels and embroidery are combined, creating three-dimensional, hand-crafted fashion portraits that transport you to a bygone era.

“My collages seek to reproduce the elegance of the women of that golden age in Paris between the 1930s and 1950s,” de Vauville explains. “The women are adorned with veils or beautiful fascinators, extravagant antique jewellery and accessories, each with her own unique personality.

“For me, that was the defining period of Parisian elegance; a bygone world of fine art and high fashion, a whirlwind of dreams and creativity. The great artists, stylists, illustrators and photographers of the period are an endless source of inspiration.”

Among these are the painters Boldini, Picasso and Cocteau; the photographers Richard Avedon and Cecil Beaton (“In particular, Beaton has influenced me by his vision of fashion in his photography,” she says); the illustrators Gruau and Christian Bérard; and actresses Marlene Dietrich and Grace Kelly; not to mention the archives of Monsieur Christian Dior.

De Vauville’s creations may be difficult to define but one thing is clear: her deep-rooted appreciation of materials and textures, gained over years in the back rooms of those grand fashion houses and honed by her travels around the world. From the ancient artworks of Japan to China’s unrivalled silk-craft traditions and the vibrant woven textiles of Africa, de Vauville’s travels have provided an unmatched and remarkably rounded education in rare materials and fabrication techniques.

Her knowledge of these ancient crafts and exquisite materials is now incorporated into her works of art. De Vauville is also an avid collector, always on the lookout for authentic items to incorporate into her work. “I collect art books, photographs, fashion pieces and souvenirs from my travels. In particular I spend a lot of time at auction houses, antiques markets and heritage boutiques to find historic creations from the 1930s and 1940s. These pieces are priceless because they preserve a great deal of historic savoir faire, in particular handcraft techniques, many of which have been lost today.”

All of these influences align in de Vauville’s creations, where antique jewellery clips, brooches and pearls are interlaced with elaborate masks, silk veils, jaunty hats and rich jacquards, in an homage to the artist’s three great loves: fashion, art and the City of Light.