Louis Alexandre Raimon
Encyclopedia
Louis Alexandre Raimon better known as Alexandre de Paris, was a famous French hairdresser
("maître coiffeur"). He was responsible for creating Elizabeth Taylor
's coiffure in the 1963 Hollywood epic Cleopatra (1963 film)
. He also styled Greta Garbo
, Audrey Hepburn
and Lauren Bacall
, among others. He was nicknamed the "Prince de la coiffure", "d'Artagnan
de la coiffure", "Sphinx
de la coiffure", and "Figaro
."
His signature chignons and his flamboyant style made him famous, setting fashions in hairstyling for decades.
(Note:a chignon is a knot or a coil of hair arranged in the back of a woman's head)
, France
. In 1938, he began working as an apprentice at a hair salon in Cannes
(French Riviera
). He soon became the head apprentice ("premier garçon") of his mentor Antoine de Paris
. In this salon, he met Andrée Banaudi, to whom he remained married until his death.
In 1946, he became famous for his masterpiece, the coiffure of Begum
Aga Khan
(Yvette Labrousse) for her wedding with Aga Khan III
. That same year, he originated the chignon as art form, with different twists on the classic style. Later, for a 1961 dinner given at the Chateau de Versailles
by Général de Gaulle
in honour of the President of the USA
John F. Kennedy
, Alexandre would put diamond
s in Jackie Kennedy
's chignon.
He worked for over 40 years with the masters of French haute couture
: (Coco Chanel
, Yves Saint-Laurent, Hubert de Givenchy
, Christian Dior
, Karl Lagerfeld
, Madame Grès, Pierre Balmain
, Gianfranco Ferré
Jean-Paul Gaultier
and Thierry Mugler
). Like them, he became a well-known symbol of French elegance.
In 1952, he opened a salon jointly with the Carita sisters. Five years later, in 1957, he opened his own salon on the Rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré
in Paris
. Jean Cocteau
, his friend, designed his logo, nicknaming him "le Sphinx de la Coiffure". Later, in 1982, he opened a second salon, Avenue Matignon, in Paris
.
His clientele included the Duchess of Windsor (who had introduced him to the international aristocracy as he was starting out), Isabelle, comtesse de Paris
, Jacqueline de Ribes
, Farah Diba, Gloria Guinness
, Dolores Guinness
, Queen Sirikit of Thailand, Frederica of Hanover, Princess Grace of Monaco
, and also actresses such as Audrey Hepburn
, Lauren Bacall
, Liza Minnelli
, Shirley MacLaine
, Greta Garbo
, Maria Callas
, Sophia Loren
, Arletty
, Michèle Morgan
and Romy Schneider
.
In 1963, he created Elizabeth Taylor
's hairdo for the film Cleopatra
. He was very close to Taylor, whom he considered a personal friend. He designed her coiffures for many movies in which she starred, as well as for her wedding with actor Richard Burton
. For her, he also created the famous layered "artichoke" cut.
He was also the hairdresser of King Hassan II and the Queen of Jordan and was invited by the Shah
of Iran
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
to dress the hair of most prestigious guest of the lavish celebration of Persepolis
in 1971.
He was the president of the Organisation Mondiale de la Coiffure from 1978 until 1993.
At the exhibition "The Grace Kelly
Years", in the summer of 2007 at the Grimaldi Forum
in Monaco
, Frédéric Mitterrand
gave a tribute to Alexandre's long-lasting work for Princess Grace of Monaco
by displaying a selection of original drawings by the master, pictures and letters. These exceptional pieces, all property of the Grimaldi
family, showed the dedication and the great respect that he had for the Princess and for Monaco
.
He died on 12 January 2008 at the age of 85 with his wife and two children by his side.
Hairdresser
Hairdresser is a term referring to anyone whose occupation is to cut or style hair in order to change or maintain a person's image. This is achieved using a combination of hair coloring, haircutting, and hair texturing techniques...
("maître coiffeur"). He was responsible for creating Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
's coiffure in the 1963 Hollywood epic Cleopatra (1963 film)
Cleopatra (1963 film)
Cleopatra is a 1963 British-American-Swiss epic drama film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. The screenplay was adapted by Sidney Buchman, Ben Hecht, Ranald MacDougall, and Mankiewicz from a book by Carlo Maria Franzero. The film starred Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Roddy...
. He also styled Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo , born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, was a Swedish film actress. Garbo was an international star and icon during Hollywood's silent and classic periods. Many of Garbo's films were sensational hits, and all but three were profitable...
, Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn was a British actress and humanitarian. Although modest about her acting ability, Hepburn remains one of the world's most famous actresses of all time, remembered as a film and fashion icon of the twentieth century...
and Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall is an American film and stage actress and model, known for her distinctive husky voice and sultry looks.She first emerged as leading lady in the Humphrey Bogart film To Have And Have Not and continued on in the film noir genre, with appearances in The Big Sleep and Dark Passage ,...
, among others. He was nicknamed the "Prince de la coiffure", "d'Artagnan
D'Artagnan
Charles Ogier de Batz de Castelmore, Comte d'Artagnan served Louis XIV as captain of the Musketeers of the Guard and died at the Siege of Maastricht in the Franco-Dutch War. A fictionalized account of his life by Gatien de Courtilz de Sandras formed the basis for the d'Artagnan Romances of...
de la coiffure", "Sphinx
Sphinx
A sphinx is a mythical creature with a lion's body and a human head or a cat head.The sphinx, in Greek tradition, has the haunches of a lion, the wings of a great bird, and the face of a woman. She is mythicised as treacherous and merciless...
de la coiffure", and "Figaro
Figaro
-Literature:* Figaro, the central character in:** The Barber of Seville by Beaumarchais***Il barbiere di Siviglia , the opera by Paisiello based on Beaumarchais' play...
."
His signature chignons and his flamboyant style made him famous, setting fashions in hairstyling for decades.
(Note:a chignon is a knot or a coil of hair arranged in the back of a woman's head)
Biography
Alexandre was born on 6 September 1922 in Saint-TropezSaint-Tropez
Saint-Tropez is a town, 104 km to the east of Marseille, in the Var department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. It is also the principal town in the canton of Saint-Tropez....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. In 1938, he began working as an apprentice at a hair salon in Cannes
Cannes
Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....
(French Riviera
French Riviera
The Côte d'Azur, pronounced , often known in English as the French Riviera , is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France, also including the sovereign state of Monaco...
). He soon became the head apprentice ("premier garçon") of his mentor Antoine de Paris
Antoine de Paris
Antoni "Antek" Cierplikowski became the world's first celebrity hairdresser when he opened the salon Antoine de Paris in Paris and became known as Monsieur Antoine....
. In this salon, he met Andrée Banaudi, to whom he remained married until his death.
In 1946, he became famous for his masterpiece, the coiffure of Begum
Begum
Begum, Begam or Baigum is a Turkic title given to female family members of a Baig or 'Beg', a higher official. The term Begum is derived from the word Beg, and means a female member of the Beg's family.Also used Begzadi, for Ex...
Aga Khan
Aga Khan
Aga Khan is the hereditary title of the Imam of the largest branch of the Ismā'īlī followers of the Shī‘a faith. They affirm the Imamat of the descendants of Ismail ibn Jafar, eldest son of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq, while the larger Twelver branch of Shi`ism follows Ismail's younger brother Musa...
(Yvette Labrousse) for her wedding with Aga Khan III
Aga Khan III
Sir Sultan Muhammed Shah, Aga Khan III, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, GCVO, PC was the 48th Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims. He was one of the founders and the first president of the All-India Muslim League, and served as President of the League of Nations from 1937-38. He was nominated to represent India to...
. That same year, he originated the chignon as art form, with different twists on the classic style. Later, for a 1961 dinner given at the Chateau de Versailles
Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles , or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles in the Île-de-France region of France. In French it is the Château de Versailles....
by Général de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
in honour of the President of the USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
, Alexandre would put diamond
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
s in Jackie Kennedy
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier "Jackie" Kennedy Onassis was the wife of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, and served as First Lady of the United States during his presidency from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. Five years later she married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle...
's chignon.
He worked for over 40 years with the masters of French haute couture
Haute couture
Haute couture refers to the creation of exclusive custom-fitted clothing. Haute couture is made to order for a specific customer, and it is usually made from high-quality, expensive fabric and sewn with extreme attention to detail and finished by the most experienced and capable seamstresses,...
: (Coco Chanel
Coco Chanel
Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel was a pioneering French fashion designer whose modernist thought, menswear-inspired fashions, and pursuit of expensive simplicity made her an important figure in 20th-century fashion. She was the founder of one of the most famous fashion brands, Chanel...
, Yves Saint-Laurent, Hubert de Givenchy
Hubert de Givenchy
Count Hubert James Marcel Taffin de Givenchy is a French aristocrat and fashion designer who founded The House of Givenchy in 1952. He is famous for having designed much of the personal and professional wardrobe of Audrey Hepburn, as well as clothing for clients such as Jacqueline Kennedy...
, Christian Dior
Christian Dior
Christian Dior , was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, also called Christian Dior.-Life:...
, Karl Lagerfeld
Karl Lagerfeld
Karl Lagerfeld is a German fashion designer, artist and photographer based in Paris. He has collaborated on a variety of fashion and art related projects, most notably as head designer and creative director for the fashion house Chanel...
, Madame Grès, Pierre Balmain
Pierre Balmain
Pierre Alexandre Claudius Balmain was a French fashion designer. Known for sophistication and elegance, he once said that "dressmaking is the architecture of movement."...
, Gianfranco Ferré
Gianfranco Ferrè
Gianfranco Ferré was a fashion designer also known as "the architect of fashion" for his background and his original attitude toward creating fashion design....
Jean-Paul Gaultier
Jean-Paul Gaultier
Jean Paul Gaultier , born 24 April 1952 in Arcueil, Val-de-Marne, France) is a French haute couture fashion designer. Gaultier was the creative director of Hermès from 2003 to 2010. In the past, he has hosted the television series Eurotrash....
and Thierry Mugler
Thierry Mugler
Thierry Mugler is a French fashion designer and creator of several perfumes.-Childhood:Mugler was born in Strasbourg, France on 21 December 1948. His passion led him to focus more on drawing than on school and at the age of 9, he began to study classical dance...
). Like them, he became a well-known symbol of French elegance.
In 1952, he opened a salon jointly with the Carita sisters. Five years later, in 1957, he opened his own salon on the Rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré
Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré
The rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré is a street in Paris, France. Although relatively narrow and nondescript , it is cited as being one of the most fashionable streets in the world, thanks to the presence of virtually every major global fashion house...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. Jean Cocteau
Jean Cocteau
Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau was a French poet, novelist, dramatist, designer, playwright, artist and filmmaker. His circle of associates, friends and lovers included Kenneth Anger, Pablo Picasso, Jean Hugo, Jean Marais, Henri Bernstein, Marlene Dietrich, Coco Chanel, Erik Satie, María...
, his friend, designed his logo, nicknaming him "le Sphinx de la Coiffure". Later, in 1982, he opened a second salon, Avenue Matignon, in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
His clientele included the Duchess of Windsor (who had introduced him to the international aristocracy as he was starting out), Isabelle, comtesse de Paris
Isabelle, comtesse de Paris
Princess Isabelle of Orléans-Braganza , became by marriage duchess of Orléans, of Valois, of Chartres, of Guise, of Enghien, of Vendôme, of Penthièvre, of Aumale, of Nemours and of Montpensier, dauphine of Auvergne, princess of Joinville, princess of Condé, etc., titular Countess of...
, Jacqueline de Ribes
Jacqueline de Ribes
Comtesse Jacqueline de Ribes is a French socialite and fashion designer. She is also a member of the International Best Dressed List since 1962.-Early life:...
, Farah Diba, Gloria Guinness
Gloria Guinness
Gloria Guinness , born Gloria Rubio y Alatorre, was a Mexican-born socialite and fashion icon of the 20th century, and a contributing editor to Harper's Bazaar from 1963 until 1971...
, Dolores Guinness
Dolores Guinness
Dolores Guinness born 31 July 1936 in Berlin-Charlottenburg, Germany, is a German born Freiin , socialite, fashion icon and jet set member of the 1950s and 1960s. She is also a member of the International Best Dressed List since 1970...
, Queen Sirikit of Thailand, Frederica of Hanover, Princess Grace of Monaco
Grace Kelly
Grace Patricia Kelly was an American actress who, in April 1956, married Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, to become Princess consort of Monaco, styled as Her Serene Highness The Princess of Monaco, and commonly referred to as Princess Grace.After embarking on an acting career in 1950, at the age of...
, and also actresses such as Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn was a British actress and humanitarian. Although modest about her acting ability, Hepburn remains one of the world's most famous actresses of all time, remembered as a film and fashion icon of the twentieth century...
, Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall is an American film and stage actress and model, known for her distinctive husky voice and sultry looks.She first emerged as leading lady in the Humphrey Bogart film To Have And Have Not and continued on in the film noir genre, with appearances in The Big Sleep and Dark Passage ,...
, Liza Minnelli
Liza Minnelli
Liza May Minnelli is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of singer and actress Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minnelli....
, Shirley MacLaine
Shirley MacLaine
Shirley MacLaine is an American film and theater actress, singer, dancer, activist and author, well-known for her beliefs in new age spirituality and reincarnation. She has written a large number of autobiographical works, many dealing with her spiritual beliefs as well as her Hollywood career...
, Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo , born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, was a Swedish film actress. Garbo was an international star and icon during Hollywood's silent and classic periods. Many of Garbo's films were sensational hits, and all but three were profitable...
, Maria Callas
Maria Callas
Maria Callas was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century. She combined an impressive bel canto technique, a wide-ranging voice and great dramatic gifts...
, Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren, OMRI is an Italian actress.In 1962, Loren won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Two Women, along with 21 awards, becoming the first actress to win an Academy Award for a non-English-speaking performance...
, Arletty
Arletty
Arletty was a French actress, singer, and fashion model.-Life and career:Arletty was born Léonie Marie Julie Bathiat in Courbevoie , to a working-class family. Her early career was dominated by the music hall, and she later appeared in plays and cabaret. Arletty was a stage performer for ten years...
, Michèle Morgan
Michèle Morgan
Michèle Morgan is a French film actress, who was a leading lady for three decades.- Career :Morgan was born Simone Renée Roussel in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, a western suburb of Paris....
and Romy Schneider
Romy Schneider
Romy Schneider was an Austrian-born German film actress who also held French citizenship.-Early life:Schneider was born Rosemarie Magdalena Albach in Nazi-era Vienna, six months after the Anschluss, into a family of actors that included her paternal grandmother Rosa Albach-Retty, her Austrian...
.
In 1963, he created Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
's hairdo for the film Cleopatra
Cleopatra (1963 film)
Cleopatra is a 1963 British-American-Swiss epic drama film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. The screenplay was adapted by Sidney Buchman, Ben Hecht, Ranald MacDougall, and Mankiewicz from a book by Carlo Maria Franzero. The film starred Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Roddy...
. He was very close to Taylor, whom he considered a personal friend. He designed her coiffures for many movies in which she starred, as well as for her wedding with actor Richard Burton
Richard Burton
Richard Burton, CBE was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award, six of which were for Best Actor in a Leading Role , and was a recipient of BAFTA, Golden Globe and Tony Awards for Best Actor. Although never trained as an actor, Burton was, at one time, the highest-paid...
. For her, he also created the famous layered "artichoke" cut.
He was also the hairdresser of King Hassan II and the Queen of Jordan and was invited by the Shah
Shah
Shāh is the title of the ruler of certain Southwest Asian and Central Asian countries, especially Persia , and derives from the Persian word shah, meaning "king".-History:...
of Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Mohammad Rezā Shāh Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, Shah of Persia , ruled Iran from 16 September 1941 until his overthrow by the Iranian Revolution on 11 February 1979...
to dress the hair of most prestigious guest of the lavish celebration of Persepolis
Persepolis
Perspolis was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire . Persepolis is situated northeast of the modern city of Shiraz in the Fars Province of modern Iran. In contemporary Persian, the site is known as Takht-e Jamshid...
in 1971.
He was the president of the Organisation Mondiale de la Coiffure from 1978 until 1993.
At the exhibition "The Grace Kelly
Grace Kelly
Grace Patricia Kelly was an American actress who, in April 1956, married Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, to become Princess consort of Monaco, styled as Her Serene Highness The Princess of Monaco, and commonly referred to as Princess Grace.After embarking on an acting career in 1950, at the age of...
Years", in the summer of 2007 at the Grimaldi Forum
Grimaldi Forum
Grimaldi Forum, Monaco is a conference & congress centre located on the seafront of Monaco's eastern beach quartier, Larvotto. Les Ballets de Monte Carlo and the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra regularly perform here...
in Monaco
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
, Frédéric Mitterrand
Frédéric Mitterrand
Frédéric Mitterrand , a Franco-Tunisian citizen, is the French Minister of Culture and Communication. Throughout his career, he has been an actor, screenwriter, television presenter, writer, producer and director.-Biography:...
gave a tribute to Alexandre's long-lasting work for Princess Grace of Monaco
Grace Kelly
Grace Patricia Kelly was an American actress who, in April 1956, married Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, to become Princess consort of Monaco, styled as Her Serene Highness The Princess of Monaco, and commonly referred to as Princess Grace.After embarking on an acting career in 1950, at the age of...
by displaying a selection of original drawings by the master, pictures and letters. These exceptional pieces, all property of the Grimaldi
House of Grimaldi
The House of Grimaldi is associated with the history of the Republic of Genoa and of the Principality of Monaco.-History:The Grimaldi family descends from Grimaldo, a Genoese statesman at the time of the early Crusades. He might have been a son of Otto Canella, a consul of the Republic of Genoa in...
family, showed the dedication and the great respect that he had for the Princess and for Monaco
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
.
He died on 12 January 2008 at the age of 85 with his wife and two children by his side.
Decorations
- Two Oscars de la Mode in 1963 and 1969.
- Honorary Dé d'or of the Haute CoutureHaute coutureHaute couture refers to the creation of exclusive custom-fitted clothing. Haute couture is made to order for a specific customer, and it is usually made from high-quality, expensive fabric and sewn with extreme attention to detail and finished by the most experienced and capable seamstresses,...
(1994). - Chevalier de la Légion d'honneurLégion d'honneurThe Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
- Chevalier dans l'Ordre national du MériteOrdre National du MériteThe Ordre national du Mérite is an Order of State awarded by the President of the French Republic. It was founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle...
- Chevalier des Arts et Lettres.
- Médaille de Vermeil de la Ville de ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
- Chevalier de l'ordre de Saint-Charles (MonacoMonacoMonaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
)
Sources
- Carnet du Jour. Le FigaroLe FigaroLe Figaro is a French daily newspaper founded in 1826 and published in Paris. It is one of three French newspapers of record, with Le Monde and Libération, and is the oldest newspaper in France. It is also the second-largest national newspaper in France after Le Parisien and before Le Monde, but...
. 12 January 2008. - Décès du maître Alexandre de Paris, inventeur de la "haute coiffure". AFPAgence France-PresseAgence France-Presse is a French news agency, the oldest one in the world, and one of the three largest with Associated Press and Reuters. It is also the largest French news agency. Currently, its CEO is Emmanuel Hoog and its news director Philippe Massonnet...
. 12 January 2008. - Stéphane Bern, Alexandre de Paris, figaro des princesses. Le FigaroLe FigaroLe Figaro is a French daily newspaper founded in 1826 and published in Paris. It is one of three French newspapers of record, with Le Monde and Libération, and is the oldest newspaper in France. It is also the second-largest national newspaper in France after Le Parisien and before Le Monde, but...
. 14 January 2008. - The Grace Kelly years exhibition in the Monaco Revue.
- The Grace Kelly years exhibition.
- BBC report on Alexandre's death
- UPI story
- Nice article in the WWD by Jennifer Weil
- Nice one by John Lichfield in The Independent
- John Lichfield again...
- Obituary in The Times, 22 January 2008