Born: Liège, Belgium, 1917
Died: Monte Carlo, Monaco, 1988
Son of a couturière, Jules-François Crahay began his career early. At 13 years old he was already working as an illustrator at his mother’s couture house. In 1934 Crahay moved to Paris to study couture and then returned to join his mother’s establishment, where he helped dress Belgium’s high society for two years. During the Second World War he was captured and imprisoned for four years. Crahay then joined Nina Ricci – his 1959 collection was rapturously received – and defected to Jeanne Lanvin in 1963, succeeding Antonio del Castillo and directing the collections for 20 years. ‘I have no use for afternoon clothes,’ he once remarked, ‘fashion leaps from the little morning suit to the evening gown.’
