Career
Dormoy started out as a mannequin for Paul Poiret, which she credited with helping her learn to "understand the female body."
Dormoy worked with Vionnet alongside other designers such as Jacques Griffe and Marcelle Chaumont. As première d"atelier, she was head of the workroom at Vionnet until she left to launch her own couture house in December 1928. This date was open to question even while Dormoy was in business, with M.D.C. Crawford stating in 1941 that Dormoy launched "his" (sic) business in 1934, and the mannequin "Freddy" recalling a launch date of 1927 in her 1958 memoirs.
In 1937 Dormoy had her portrait painted by the artist Marie Laurencin, who accepted a fur coat as payment.
This portrait was sold by the Swiss auction house Dobiaschofsky in 2013. Dormoy remained with Jean Patou in Biarritz prior to returning to Paris, France following the German occupation of France during World World War World War II She continued working during the Occupation, providing clothes to clients such as the actress Edwige Feuillère.
In February 1946, Collier"s published an article about Feuillère and Dormoy, noting that Dormoy"s designs were among the first post-war models "by leading designers" to be bought by American buyers for export back home, despite a poor exchange rate meaning that each design cost $500-600. A picture caption in the article noted that Dormoy"s unfussy designs typically featured free-flowing lines.
Dormoy closed her house in 1950, and died in 1976.
Her heirs presented a 1948 evening gown that she had designed to the Musée Galliera.
