Education
Main Bocher was a native of Chicago, where he studied art at the University of Chicago and the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts.
Main Bocher was a native of Chicago, where he studied art at the University of Chicago and the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts.
Although often pronounced "Manitoba-bo-shay," his name is pronounced "Maine-Bocker."
He served in the Army in the World War I and stayed on in Paris after the war, working as a fashion illustrator for Harper"s Bazaar, as Paris fashion editor for Vogue (1922-1929), and eventually became the editor-in-chief of the French edition of Vogue in early 1927. Main Bocher"s decision to become a couturier grew out of his years as editor at Vogue. He realized that his critical eye and his feeling for fashion might also serve him as a designer.
Mainbocher"s innovations include the short evening dress.
The famous beaded evening sweaters. The strapless evening gown.
Bare-armed blouses for suits. The costume-dyed furs (black mink and black sealskin).
Novel uses for batiste, voile, organdy, piqué, linen, embroidered muslin.
The waistcinch. Mantailored dinner suits. Bows instead of hats.
The principle of the simple dress with lots of tie-ons (shirt-like aprons, changeable jackets).
The sari evening dress. The "bump" shoulder (a sort of modified leg-o"-mutton sleeve) on suits and coats. The evening version of the "tennis dress" a white evening dress with "V" neck and stole).
The revival of crinolines.
The rain suit.
In 2002, Mainbocher was honored with a bronze plaque on New York City"s Fashion Walk of Fame in the legendary garment district. Christian Dior said of him, "Mainbocher is really in advance of us all, because he does it in America.".