The Story of Jacqueline de Ribes, France’s Most Elegant Woman, Whom Valentino Called “the Last Queen of Paris”
She developed a unique habit of cutting up her haute couture dresses and reworking them into entirely new creations, experimenting with altered waistlines, unexpected proportions, and novel silhouettes. In the 1950s, she met Oleg Cassini in New York. The designer described her as “elegant to the point of distraction.” Sensing she was a frustrated designer, he hired her to create dresses in muslin for him, which she did in the attic of her home with the help of a young, and then unknown, Italian assistant who created sketches for her: Valentino. It was Valentino who later bestowed the title of “the last queen of Paris” on de Ribes, struck by her “extraordinary Persian-inspired chic” and her diva-like movements. When the designer later founded his own fashion house, de Ribes became one of his first and most important clients and a constant muse. Jacqueline de Ribes in 1980. Photo: Getty. Ron Galella/Getty Images The aristocrat also viewed jewelry—especially pieces featuring diamonds—in much the same way she approached clothing: as raw material to be shaped, reinvented, and …
