Jenny Sacerdote
Painting of Sacerdote, 1921, by Henri Gervex
Born
Jeanne Adèle Bernard

1868 (1868)
Périgueux, Dordogne, France
Died1962 (aged 93–94)
Nice, France
Other namesMadame Jenny
Occupations
  • Fashion designer
  • dressmaker
Known forLittle grey suit

Jeanne Adèle Bernard (1868–1962), known as Jenny Sacerdote and Madame Jenny, was a French couturier known for the "little grey suit".[1][2][3][4] Her fashion brand was Jenny, and in 2018 a brand La Suite Jenny Sacerdote was established, paying tribute to her name.[5]

Personal life

Jeanne Adèle Bernard was born in Périgueux in the Dordogne in 1868. Her mother and grandmother worked in fashion, but she studied to become an academic before turning to fashion at the age of 39.[6] She bought the chateau of Château-l'Évêque, the former summer palace of the Bishop of Périgueux, in 1923.[7][1] She married Emil Sacerdote in 1909 and they divorced in 1940. She died in Nice in 1962.[1]

Career

Sacerdote opened her first shop at 1 rue de Castiglione in 1909. She developed the "Jenny neck", a boat neck, in 1911 and the "little grey suit" in 1915. By 1915 her premises at 70, Champs-Élysées, included 22 workshops, a restaurant, and showrooms decorated by Robert Mallet-Stevens. It was said that she invented the "little black dress" before Chanel. Her fashion house closed in 1940.[2][1]

Sacerdote became a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 1926, for services to fashion. She was only the second woman to be granted this honour.[1]

The Chateau of Château-l'Evêque, which Sacerdotebought in 1923

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "A woman's story". La Suite de Jenny Sacerdote. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  2. 1 2 Concierge Masqué (9 November 2018). "Faut-il ressusciter les morts de la mode ?" (in French). Vanity Fair. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  3. ↑ Dordogne Tourist Board. "Press Kit 2017" (PDF). p. 30. Retrieved 1 October 2019. Internationally renowned for her elegant creations of the 1930s, Jenny Sacerdote, a fashion designer originally from the Périgord (1868 – 1962), revolutionised fashion with her famous little grey suit.
  4. ↑ Moraine, Odile (12 August 2016). "Jenny Sacerdote, celle qui révolutionna la mode avant Chanel". Culture. Franceinfo. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  5. ↑ "Home page". La Suite Jenny Sacerdote. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  6. ↑ "Jeanne ou la femme jenniale …". La Suite Jenny Sacerdote. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  7. ↑ "Le château fut la propriété de Jenny Sacerdote". Chateau de chateau l'eveque. Retrieved 1 October 2019.

Further reading

  • Ott, M. Louise Hassell (2004). Jenny Sacerdote, a Forgotten French Designer 1908-1940. University of Rhode Island. OCLC 60552038. M.S. thesis
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