The Last Queen Collection
For His new Haute Couture collection you’ve seen backstage fashion shows, Julien Fournié pays tribute to Marie-Antoinette, the last queen of France, at the Paris-based Musée Grévin.
She is the undisputed initiator of all Haute Couture.
“Whatever one thinks about her role in History,. Marie-Antoinette was a model of style for all the courts of Europe. She has started the movement at the very origin of fashion: preferring what is new to what has always been considered beautiful.”
Julien Fournié
Contacted by the Grévin Museum management to create an outfit for the statue of Marie-Antoinette “in her full majesty,” Julien Fournié wanted to restore the splendor of her life in Versailles and to make a statement about her as a fashion icon, a status which the last queen of France has acquired for more than two centuries as the first genuine influencer.
To accompany this event, the French couturier also presents six looks inspired by the codes of the legend of Marie-Antoinette, declined in today’s Haute Couture pieces showcasing the work of the best artisans. It includes, of course, corsets and ball gowns with huge volumes, but also looks flirting with masculine suits on feminine silhouettes,
The first look of this Haute Couture collection presents, under a long trench coat in plum washed silk, embroidered with old silver plant motifs, an ensemble entirely made of saddle-style leather, in various dear to Marie-Antoinette pastel shades. This training outfit also includes fleur-de-lis inlays on the pants, and flat bow ornaments on the bustier. A leather crown with medallions and royal gaiters complete this outfit.
The new Big bang Bag
Accessories also feature prominently in the Haute Couture collection you’ve seen backstage fashion shows: “Ex Voto” earrings and brooches, the brand’s monogrammed tote bag in “lenticular” coated canvas, and three versions of the new “Big Bang” bag in the tender colors of the 18th century.
A pant suit, cut in a Prince of Wales wool in bright colors, comes enhanced with lilacs embroideries. It is paired with a lavallere silk blouse and a bicorn hat, decorated with a feather arrow and brooch in the style of “Incroyables”.
A “boyish” azure jacket, embroidered with silver, over a short silk and lurex nightie, reveals the the legs’ full length barely covered with “nude” sheer leggings embroidered with royal jewels.
A wide embroidered ball gown swirls and reveals a mix of peony, soft pink and sweetbriar tones on multiple precious layers of sheer fabrics.
To mark the diversity and universality of the Marie-Antoinette style, a flowery bustier in shades of canary yellow adorned with matching roses and jewelry tops a giant petticoat of matching tulles on the ebony body of Toby Momoh, a Julien Fournié muse.
The last look in this Haute Couture collection you’ve seen backstage fashion show reinterprets embroidered elements of the legend surrounding the last queen of France: as shepherdess, pastry lover, mother in love with her son, and playing with her coat of arms, a ll as if hand sketched like Asian anime in tattoo style. They flourish on a “gothic rockabily” look cinched by a black crystal embroidered black jacket with a crater collar and split basque.
The highlight of the Haute Couture collection you’ve seen fashion show backstage is only revealed at the finale: Queen Marie-Antoinette’s majestic court costume includes a corset decorated with embroidered bows, a skirt, an overskirt, ruffled sleeves, in bright white silk triple organza, embellished with sparkling embroidery in various shades of silver and moon gold recalling the queen’s favorite musical instruments, symbols of the French royals and the motifs of Versailles. Ribbons, feathers and pearls enliven her hair, topped with a sparkling flocked galleon with embroidered sails featuring the French monarch’s symbol. Julien Fournié also wanted to return to the Queen of France a replica of the famous necklace from the “Affair” which Marie-Antoinette never actually wore…
This new statue of Queen Marie-Antoinette now stands among the permanent collections of the wax Museum, in the Coupole at Grévin, which has brought together the characters of “Grévin Fashion” since 2014,
From June 28th to September 1, 2024, the six looks from the Julien Fournié’s “Last Queen” Haute Couture collection you’ve seen fashion show backstage will remain on display in this same place so that a wider audience can admire up close and in complete freedom Haute Couture knowhow.
“I was very happy to make this luxury accessible to a popular audience eager for fashion culture, especially at a time when Paris is welcoming the world for the Olympic Games.”
Julien Fournié
