Charles Wilson Brega James (18 July 1906 – 23 September 1978) was an English-American fashion designer. He is best known for his ballgowns and highly structured aesthetic. James is one of the most influential fashion designers of the 20th century and continues to influence new generations of designers.

Early life

James' father, Ralph Ernest Haweis James, was a British army officer and instructor at

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town o ...

. His mother, Louise Enders Brega, came from a wealthy Chicago family. He was educated at

The New Beacon , motto_translation = Give light out of darkness , established = , closed = , type = Preparatory School , religious_affiliation = , president = , head_label = Headmas ...

in Sevenoaks, Kent from 1914 to 1918. In 1919, he attended

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (sc ...

where he met

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires '' Decl ...

Francis Cyril Rose Francis Cyril Rose (1909–1979), also Sir Francis, 4th Baronet of the Montreal Roses, was an English painter vigorously championed by Gertrude Stein. His wife Frederica, Lady Rose (1910–2002) became a well known travel writer, notably on Cors ...

, and

Cecil Beaton Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton, (14 January 1904 – 18 January 1980) was a British fashion, portrait and war photographer, diarist, painter, and interior designer, as well as an Oscar–winning stage and costume designer for films and the t ...

, with whom he formed a longstanding friendship. He was expelled from Harrow for a "sexual escapade". After that, James briefly studied music at the

University of Bordeaux The University of Bordeaux (French: ''Université de Bordeaux'') is a Lists of universities in France, public university based in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in Southern France, southwestern France. It has several campuses in the cities and towns of Bor ...

in France before he went to Chicago to work. The utilities magnate

Samuel Insull Samuel Insull (November 11, 1859 – July 16, 1938) was a British-born American business magnate. He was an innovator and investor based in Chicago who greatly contributed to create an integrated electrical infrastructure in the United Stat ...

, a friend of the family, found him a position in the architectural design department where he acquired the mathematical skills that later enabled him to create his gowns. At the age of nineteen, James opened his first

milliner Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter. Historically, milliners, typically women shopkeepers, produced or imported an inventory of ...

shop in Chicago, using the name of "Charles Boucheron", as his father forbade him to use that of James.

Career

From Charles Boucheron to Charles James

In 1928, James left Chicago for

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18 ...

with 70 cents, a

Pierce Arrow The Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company was an American motor vehicle manufacturer based in Buffalo, New York, which was active from 1901 to 1938. Although best known for its expensive luxury cars, Pierce-Arrow also manufactured commercial trucks ...

, and a number of hats as his only possessions. He later opened a millinery shop above a garage in Murray Hill, Queens, New York, beginning his first dress designs. At the time, he presented himself as a "sartorial structural architect". By 1930, he had designed the spiral zipped dress and the taxi dress ("so easy to wear it could be slipped on in the backseat of a taxi"). From New York James moved to London, setting up shop in

Mayfair Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world ...

. He designed the wedding dress for Baba Beaton, Cecil Beaton's sister, for her marriage to Alec Hambro on 6 November 1934. James created a modern interpretation of the white wedding dress, with a raised neckline and divided train. In 1936, he established the company Charles James (London) Ltd., using his own name officially for the first time. James also spent time in Paris in the early 1930s, working from the Hôtel Lancaster. He showed his first collection in the French capital in 1937. That same year, he created a one-of-a-kind white satin quilted jacket described by

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarr ...

as "the first soft sculpture" and now in the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

collections. This jacket has been considered the starting point for "

anorak A parka or anorak is a type of coat with a hood, often lined with fur or faux fur. This kind of garment is a staple of Inuit clothing, traditionally made from caribou or seal skin, for hunting and kayaking in the frigid Arctic. Some Inuit ...

s, space man and even fur jackets". In the 1930s, he also invented the

Pavlovian Classical conditioning (also known as Pavlovian or respondent conditioning) is a behavioral procedure in which a biologically potent stimulus (e.g. food) is paired with a previously neutral stimulus (e.g. a triangle). It also refers to the learn ...

waistband that expands after a meal. Meanwhile, he licensed his fashion designs with American department stores such as

Lord & Taylor Lord & Taylor was the oldest brick and mortar department store in the United States, in business from 1826 to 2020. The brand was purchased during former owner Le Tote's 2020 liquidation bankruptcy and relaunched by new owner, Saadia Group, as ...

and

Bergdorf Goodman Bergdorf Goodman Inc. is a luxury department store based on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York. The company was founded in 1899 by Herman Bergdorf and was later owned and managed by Edwin Goodman, and later his son, Andrew Goodman. ...

New York career

Charles James La Sirene dress at the Met (52707)

James moved permanently to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

in 1939 where he established Charles James, Inc. At the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, he designed a clothing line for

Elizabeth Arden Elizabeth Arden (born Florence Nightingale Graham; December 31, 1881 – October 18, 1966) was a Canadian-American businesswoman who founded what is now Elizabeth Arden, Inc., and built a cosmetics empire in the United States. By 1929, s ...

. In 1947, James showed a collection in Paris. The following year,

Millicent Rogers Mary Millicent Abigail Rogers (February 1, 1902 - January 1, 1953), better known as Millicent Rogers, was a socialite, heiress, fashion icon, jewelry designer and art collector. She was the granddaughter of Standard Oil tycoon Henry Huttleston Rog ...

organized an exhibition of the outfits he made for her at the

Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 1.5 million objects. Located near the Prospect Heights, Cro ...

, entitled "A Decade of Design for Mrs Millicent H. Rogers by Charles James". Also in 1948,

famously photographed eight of James' creations for ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

''. In the early 1950s, James spent most of his time in New York City at his

Madison Avenue Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Str ...

workshop. He won two

Coty Award The Coty American Fashion Critics' Awards (awarded 1943–1984) were created in 1942 by the cosmetics and perfume company Coty, Inc. to promote and celebrate American fashion, and encourage design during the Second World War. In 1985, the Coty Aw ...

s, in 1950 and 1954, and one

Neiman Marcus Neiman Marcus Group, Inc. is an American integrated luxury retailer headquartered in Dallas, Texas, which owns Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Horchow, and Last Call. Since September 2021, NMG has been owned by a group of investment compani ...

Award in 1953. That year he conceived the "Four-Leaf Clover" or "Abstract" ballgown for the journalist Austine Hearst. It was the dress James ranked as his best creation. This dress weighed no less than 12 pounds and had to be supported by a rigid structure. James is best known for his sculpted ball gowns made of lavish fabrics and to exacting tailoring standards, but is also remembered for his capes and coats, often trimmed with fur and embroidery. Arnold Scaasi worked for James for two years. Scaasi was notably in charge of the ready-to-wear line. After he left, James dropped the line and returned to licensing special designs to American departments, which would produce and distribute them. He designed the interior and several pieces of furniture for the Houston home of

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

and

Dominique de Menil Dominique de Menil (née Schlumberger; March 23, 1908 – December 31, 1997) was a French-American art collector, philanthropist, founder of the Menil Collection and an heiress to the Schlumberger Limited oil-equipment fortune.Helfenstein, Josef ...

. James retired in 1958.

Personal life

In 1954, James married Nancy Lee Gregory from

Kansas Kansas () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its Capital city, capital is Topeka, Kansas, Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita, Kansas, Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebras ...

, 20 years his junior. They had a son and daughter. After the birth of their son, James produced a children's collection. The marriage dissolved in 1961. In 1964, he moved to the

Hotel Chelsea The Hotel Chelsea (also the Chelsea Hotel or the Chelsea) is a hotel in Manhattan, New York City, built between 1883 and 1885. The 250-unit hotel is located at 222 West 23rd Street, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, in the neighborhood of ...

where he had three sixth-floor rooms for his work space, office, and apartment. James died in 1978 of bronchial pneumonia.

Legacy

Influence on fashion designers

According to

Harold Koda Harold Koda (born January 3, 1950 in Honolulu, Hawaii) is an American fashion scholar, curator, and the former curator-in-chief of the Anna Wintour Costume Center at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Career While at the costume institute, Koda curat ...

, former curator-in-chief at The Costume Institute, James "transformed fashion design". James inspired many designers, including

Christian Dior Christian Ernest Dior (; 21 January 1905 – 24 October 1957) was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, Christian Dior SE, which is now owned by parent company LVMH. His fashion houses ...

, who said he was "the greatest talent of my generation". Dior credited James with inspiring The New Look.

Museum exhibitions

The Brooklyn Museum presented "The Genius of Charles James" from October 1982 to January 1983. The

Chicago History Museum Chicago History Museum is the museum of the Chicago Historical Society (CHS). The CHS was founded in 1856 to study and interpret Chicago's history. The museum has been located in Lincoln Park since the 1930s at 1601 North Clark Street at the int ...

exhibited "Charles James: Genius Deconstructed" between October 2011 and April 2012. In 2014, James's work was the subject of the opening exhibition of the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

's Anna Wintour Costume Center entitled "Charles James: Beyond Fashion". At a preview of the exhibit,

Elettra Wiedemann Elettra-Ingrid Rossellini Wiedemann (born July 26, 1983) is an American food editor, writer, fashion model, and socialite. She is the daughter of Italian actress and model Isabella Rossellini and Jonathan Wiedemann, an American. Her maternal gra ...

modeled a replica of the "Four-Leaf Clover" ballgown. In July 2014, longtime friend R. Couri Hay shared sketches by James, along with stories and anecdotes about the late designer with ''

New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, and with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker' ...

''.

James without Charles James

In May 2014, concomitantly to the James retrospective at the Metropolitan Museum,

The Weinstein Company The Weinstein Company (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film studio, founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in March 2005. TWC was one of the largest mini-major film studios in North America pri ...

(TWC) announced it had signed a license agreement with James's heirs, Charles Jr. and Louise James, to produce new collections, and thus contribute to the brand revival. Two years of legal battle followed between the heirs and the Luvanis company, which had already registered the brand in an array of jurisdictions worldwide. At the time,

Zac Posen Zachary E. Posen (; born October 24, 1980) is an American fashion designer. Early life Posen was born and raised in a Jewish family in New York City, residing in the SoHo neighborhood of lower Manhattan. He is the son of Susan (née Orzack), ...

was rumored to be the next artistic designer of the brand. In June 2016, TWC withdrew, and

Luvanis Luvanis S.A. is a private investment company headquartered in Luxembourg and specialized in the incubation and revival of long-dormant luxury brands, also coined as “sleeping beauties”. History Luvanis was founded in 2009 by Guy de Lummen ...

thereafter partnered with James' heirs to revive the Charles James brand. In September 2018, they revealed a new visual identity for Charles James, and put up for sale all the brand's rights, which had been consolidated in the previous years.

References

External links

* Reeder, Jan Glier
"Charles James (1906–1978)."
In ''Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History''. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. (March 2012)
Charles James in the Chicago History Museum Costume CollectionJames: Genius Deconstructed''
a Google Arts & Culture exhibit by the Chicago History Museum
Charles James papers, 1704-1978
from The Irene Lewisohn Costume Reference Library at the Costume Institute, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. * {{DEFAULTSORT:James, Charles English fashion designers 1906 births 1978 deaths People educated at Harrow School People from Camberley Deaths from pneumonia in New York City Deaths from bronchopneumonia British emigrants to the United States 20th-century English businesspeople